


A Disquieting Metamorphosis

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, implied Bertolt/Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-09-25
Packaged: 2018-02-09 02:53:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1966215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When your parents get transferred to a new job, you all move into a nice house in the Historic District of town. Little do you know, the house holds dark secrets and the spirits of those long gone. During a terrifying encounter one night, you find a protector and friend in one of the ghosts, a young man named Levi. While you feel yourself fall for him, the other spirits grow more and more restless. Are you going to be able to remain in the home? And what if you leave? Can you live without Levi?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Neighborhood

_Ugh, why is this box so fucking heavy? Why are clothes so heavy,_ you grumbled as you carried a cardboard box filled to the brim with clothes up the staircase. Your parents had been transferred to a new job in a new city, and with that new job came an eight hour commute from your old house. Although you weren't keen on the idea of moving, it made no sense for your family to remain in your old house. So here you were, in your new home, trudging up the staircase with a heavy box of clothes. _At least this is my final box,_ you sighed, pushing your bedroom door open and placing the box on your bed. _All right. Now to get settled in._

The pitter-patter of rain accompanied you while you put away your clothes and belongings. It was a cold, wet, and rainy October afternoon, and you were glad that most of the moving had been done before the rain started. It was most definitely a hot chocolate or hot tea kind of day. _Perhaps once I’m done with this, I’ll go downstairs and make some,_ you mused, grabbing a pile of clothes and entering your walk-in closet to hang them up. You heard footsteps entering your room and getting closer by the second. 

“Yeah, what is it?” you asked, keeping your back to the door and continuing to hang up clothes. Silence was the only sound that greeted you. _Ugh, I hate it when they do this; just because I have my back turned to them doesn’t mean I’m not listening. Jesus Christ,_ you grumbled. You sighed, starting to turn around to face one of your parents. “Fine. What is i . . .” your voice trailed off into nothingness as you stared back into the empty room. “Hello?” you called out, walking into your room. No one was in sight. _What? Surely I didn’t imagine that, but . . . I didn’t hear anyone leave, and houses don’t make those kinds of noises. What is this?_

You ventured out into the hall and down the stairs, looking for your parents. Your mother was in the kitchen, putting silverware into a drawer. 

“Hey Mom, were you in my room just a few moments ago?” you asked her. 

“No sweetie, I’ve been down here this whole time. Why, what happened?” she inquired, putting the silverware down on the counter and turning to face you. 

“I just heard footsteps in my room a few moments ago, and I had my back towards where the noise was coming from, so I turned around to see who it was, and no one was there. So I thought maybe you had come in and then left quietly once you saw I was busy,” you explained. 

“It wasn’t me, I’ve been down here since I brought in that box of plates and silverware,” she replied. “You know, this house is very old. Maybe it’s got a few ghosts hanging around.” You rolled your eyes as she chuckled. _And people think dad jokes are the worst jokes ever,_ you thought. 

“Well, if it was a ghost, it was pretty rude that they left before saying hello,” you snarked. 

“Go see if it was your father making the noise. His study is right next to your room, after all,” she suggested. _It’s worth a shot._

“All right. Thanks, Mom,” you said, turning to head back upstairs. 

“Wait, before you go. Dinner will be ready in two hours, so don’t fill up on any snacks if you have any,” she told you. 

“All right, I won’t,” you said, not bothering to turn around to look at her. You made your way back up the staircase and into your father’s study. The room was rather large with dark wood paneling, and a large bay window that looked out into the street. The glare of electrical lights shined in the window: the room was too dark to have what little sunlight there was as its sole lighting source. 

“Hey Dad, were you in my room just now?” you asked. 

“Nope. I’ve been in here filing papers. What, did you hear something?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I thought I heard footsteps,” you replied. 

“This is an old house, and old houses make weird noises. I’m sure what you heard was the house shifting,” he explained. 

“Yeah, probably,” you shrugged, trying to wave it off. _Well, day one in the house and I’m already spooked. My threshold for getting scared must be hella low,_ you mused as you left and returned to finish unpacking your things. 

You bedroom was deathly still and silent when you returned, something you easily remedied by playing music. And while it helped, there was an air of foreboding that remained. No matter what, no matter what corner of the room you were in or what angle you faced, you kept feeling watched while you settled into your bedroom. It was unnerving, to say the least, and you were extremely thankful when your mother called you down to dinner. 

“Still hearing the noises, [First]?” your mother asked you as you helped yourself to some food. 

“No, I haven’t heard anything since. It was just the house shifting, probably,” you shrugged. 

“The house is pretty old. When was it built, again?” your mother asked your father. 

“The late 1800s, I believe. Most of the houses in the area were built around then,” your father answered. “Admittedly, I don’t know the house’s history as well as I’d like to. All I know is that this house is very old and we got a good price for it.” You snorted as you put a forkful of food into your mouth. 

“Why, how many people died in here to lower the price to a decent one?” you snarked as the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” you offered, standing up and hurrying into the foyer. Two short blondes and two brunettes were at your door, a platter covered in saran wrap in their hands. 

“Hi, we saw you guys just moved in and we wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood!” the shortest blonde told you cheerfully, handing the platter to you: it was full of cookies. 

“Aw, thank you!” you replied. “I’m [First], by the way,” you added, extending your hand to shake theirs. 

“I’m Krista, that’s Annie, that’s Sasha, and that’s Ymir,” Krista introduced you to everyone. “We live in the old Reiss House a few doors down.” 

“The one with the huge stain glass windows in the front?” you asked. 

“Yup! That one!” Sasha confirmed. “So, what made you decide to buy the Ackerman House, of all places?” You raised an eyebrow at her. 

“What do you mean?” you inquired. 

“Well, I mean the Yeager House is up for sale too, and it’s just as big as this house. I mean, I would never have imagined someone would buy the Ackerman House after all the rumors about what’s happened here,” Sasha elaborated. 

“Why? What are the rumors? My family and I aren’t from the area; we don’t really know anything about the house. I didn’t even know it had a name,” you said. 

“All of the houses here in the historic district have names. We’re in the Reiss House, our friends Bertolt, Reiner, Connie, and Marcel live in the Braun House, et cetera,” Annie said. 

“Most of the houses here have been passed down generation to generation,” Ymir went on. “Krista inherited our house, Reiner inherited his. Most everyone in this street was raised in their houses, and will never move out. I mean, you do get the occasional mover. Like Hange Zoe moved out a year ago and went to live closer to her job and the Yeager House has changed hands ever since it was built, really. And _then_ there’s the Ackerman House that spends years and years vacant until a new family buys it.” _What’s she getting at?_

“Why, is something wrong with the house?” you asked. Ymir laughed and shook her head. 

“You don’t know?” she laughed. 

“Ymir, be nice. They’re new here,” Krista scolded her before turning to you. “There are rumors that this house is haunted.” – You felt a chill run up your spine at her words, recalling the footsteps and the feeling of being watched – “We’ve all been in the house before, but we’ve never had any supernatural scares.” 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. After all, there are no such things as ghosts,” Annie told you as if to reassure you. 

“Yeah,” you replied weakly, mind spinning. _Can this house really be haunted? I mean, they’ve never had an experience, but that doesn’t mean anything. After all, how would it get rumors like that without some incident?_

“Well, we just wanted to say hi and welcome you to the Historic District!” Krista said, beaming up at you. It was obvious she could sense your discomfort and was trying to cheer you up. 

“Yeah. Thank you guys, for the welcome and cookies. I’ll come by tomorrow and return the platter to you,” you replied. 

“No rush! Take your time!” Krista said. “And if you need help moving in, we’d be happy to help!” 

“Thank you! I may take you up that offer,” you said. 

“Just let us know!” The girls went on their way, the four of them and you waving goodbye to each other. _I really hope they were either lying or wrong. If there are ghosts in this house, I sure as hell don’t want to live with them,_ you thought as you made your way back into the dining room, placing the platter of cookies on the table. 

“Some neighbor girls came by to welcome us to the neighborhood. They brought cookies along with them,” you informed them, sitting back down. 

“How thoughtful,” your mother crooned, peeling back the saran wrap. 

It would be an understatement to say you were on edge the rest of the night. After the girls from the Reiss House told you that your new home was supposedly haunted, you felt even more uneasy. There were no more footsteps and you didn’t feel watched as you were getting ready for bed that night, the first time you went into your room since dinner. Still, you couldn’t hold back the sick, almost dread-like feeling you had in your gut. Yawning, you pulled back the covers on your bed back and got in. _Just relax. Nothing’s going to happen. I’m going to be perfectly fine. I just need to sleep,_ you thought as you turned the light off and curled up under your blankets. 

You fell into a deep sleep, full of warm, suffocating darkness. 

No noise. 

No dreams. 

Nothing. 

Something jolted you awake, your eyes snapping open. The moon light trickled into your room through the blinds, but you couldn’t see or hear anything out of the normal. You felt out of it: the kind of grogginess that comes from waking up from a nap, or waking up when you’re sick. You sat up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes to check out the rest of the room. 

_Are you living here now?_ The sound, a teenage boy’s voice, reverberated through the room. Fear shot through your veins and wiped away the grogginess. You looked around the room wildly to find the source of the voice, grabbing your lamp and ready to use it as a weapon if needed. Heart pounding in your chest, you saw him standing at the foot of your bed. Dark hair. Pale, translucent skin. Shimmering, almost. In clothes that could put a nineties boy band to shame. And half of his face and right arm missing, blood staining his skin and clothes and some of his dingy spine peeking out of the injury. 

Screams tore through your throat, and you grabbed your pillows and started chucking them at him. Incoherent words stumbled out of your mouth, trying to tell him to leave, calling for your parents. The pillows had no effect on him; they simply went through him and landed on the floor. _OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD WHAT’S GOING ON?! WHAT IS THIS?! WHY WON’T HE LEAVE?!_ you internally screamed as the boy gave you an almost hurt look. 

“GET OUT!” you finally managed to scream, moving back further into the corner of your bed. 

_I’m not going to hurt you, I –_

“Marco, leave. Now.” The boy missing his face, Marco, disappeared into the air impossibly fast as a young man in very old clothes spoke, leaning against the closed door of your bedroom. _What?! How did he – where did he?_ Your screeching continued, chucking your last pillow at the new man. It hit him in the shoulder, and his eyes narrowed at you. “I just saved your ass from that ghost and you reward me by throwing a pillow at me. Tch. Ungrateful little shit,” he commented, walking towards you. Your throat felt dried up and you were terrified of the new man approaching you. _What’s going on? Why aren’t my parents coming in here?_

“W-who are you?” you asked in a wavering voice. 

“Levi. What’s yours?” he stopped at the edge of your bed. Your back was pressed into the wall as much as it could it. 

“Why are you here? How did you get in here?” you demanded, moving the lamp in front of you to protect yourself from him. 

“I think I asked you a question first, but since you’re so obviously scared for no reason . . . I live here. I have since the house was first built. Now, since I’ve indulged you, will you answer my question?” _What? Does . . . does that mean he’s a ghost . . . no, he can’t be. He’s so_ solid. _He can’t be a ghost._

“H-how do I know you’re not lying?” you demanded, not moving an inch. He sighed, rolling his eyes at you. 

“Could a human do this?” with the blink of an eye, he was on the far side of the room, sitting on the window seat. In another blink, he was sitting on the edge of your bed. _No, no. My eyes much be playing tricks on me, this can’t be real. I must be asleep still._

“But . . . but that boy, Marco, he was see-through -” you pointed out. 

“We ghosts can look however we want. We can look like how we did in life, or at the time of our death, or in a shimmering form, or have a more solid appearance. It just depends on how we want to look. He wanted to scare you, so he chose what he knew would scare you,” he explained. “You know, you’re in luck that it was Marco that visited you instead of Eren, who would have killed you for sure. There are five of us, you know. The others won’t be as kind to you as I am. You’ll need to watch out for them,” he advised you. 

“I . . . Thank you, Levi. I’m [First],” you caved in, feeling a little more comfortable now that he just seemed to want to help. “Will they come again?” 

“Most likely. If you want, I guess I can stay here for a few hours to make sure they don’t hurt you,” he offered. You knew it was dangerous, after all you just met him, but you took the leap of faith and decided to trust him. “After all, I don’t have anything to do.” 

“I-I would appreciate that, Levi,” you said quietly. He nodded, grabbing a pillow and handing it to you. “Thank you.” 

“It’s nothing. It’s just for tonight, okay?” 

“Okay.” You snuggled back into bed, pulling the covers tight and shutting your eyes. 

You slept soundly and safely for the rest of the night.


	2. The Ackerman House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeking answers about the house, you turn to your new neighbors to get information about the Ackerman House's bloody past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shout-out and thank you to my buff bitchin' beautiful bitches (aka best friends) Nikki, Liz, and Gabby for helping me with research and Jacob for giving me tips about how to really get inside Levi's mind.

Light seeping into your eyes through your eyelids was what woke you from your deep sleep. You groaned softly before sitting up slowly. _Why am I so tired? Did I wake up at some ungodly hour,_ you questioned yourself, your attention turning to the figure sitting on your bed. Levi leaned against the wall, one of your books in his hands. He turned to look back at you, closing the book.

“It’s about time you woke up,” he said gruffly. “Your choice in books is shitty. Why are there so many goddamn novels that are of a girl finding out she has special powers and then falls in love with the teenage boy that teaches her the ropes?” 

“How should I know? I didn’t write those books,” you said, pushing your covers back and striding over to your closet. “Thank you for staying while I slept.” 

“Tch. It’s nothing. And it’s not like I was going to leave you at their mercy. God knows what they’d do if they caught you by yourself,” he told you. _That’s reassuring and totally not alarming,_ you thought snarky. 

“Is there anything I can do to keep them away?” you asked. “Aren’t ghosts supposed to be, like, allergic to salt, or something?” 

“No. That’s just some bullshit belief people came up with to feel like they have some power over ghosts. There’s nothing I know of that keeps ghosts away,” Levi rolled his eyes, leaning against the door jamb. _What. No, that can’t be right. He has to be joking._ You sharply turned your head to look at him in alarm; he looked dead serious. 

“Are you fucking serious?” you demanded. “You’re telling me that there’s nothing I can do to keep the other ghosts in the house away from me?” 

“I don’t make the laws of the spiritual world, [First]. And if I did, I sure as hell would have made my kind have some kind of weakness so dumbass humans like you could protect themselves from malevolent spirits,” he said. _Great. Fantastic. I’m fucked. How am I supposed to keep myself safe in this place if there’s nothing I can do to keep the ghosts away_ you thought, putting the clothes back on the rack. 

“All right. So, what do I do? Just hope that Marco and the other ghosts don’t come after me?” you inquired, turning around to give him your full attention. 

“We don’t have too much power during the day, so you’re somewhat safe during them. It’s taking all of my energy now just manifesting in front of you,” he admitted. “During night, however, they’ll be much more active. They don’t like that you and your family moved in, and they’re going to try and make you pay for taking what they consider theirs.” 

“What, so I should just have an eternal sleepover at the Reiss House?” you asked. Although you hadn’t said it with much seriousness, the idea sounded pretty good. 

“No. The ghosts would turn their attention to your parents, and you don’t want that, do you?” he replied. You exhaled shortly, folding your arms and leaning against the mirror. 

“So, basically, I’m stuck here and there’s nothing I can do to protect myself?” 

“How many times do I have to say it? Yes,” he replied impatiently, walking towards you. _This is just perfect. I’m defenseless in a house with things I can’t kill that want to kill me, and if I leave or spend the night outside of here, my parents will be on some spectral hit-list. What a way to start the day._

“How many?” you questioned with an apathetic tone as he stood in front of you. 

“How many what? Be specific,” he returned. 

“How many ghosts are in the house besides you?” 

“There’s Marco, who you had the misfortune of meeting last night. And then there are two others: a teenage boy and girl. They’re always together and they’re both pretty powerful, so it’d be unfortunate for you to run into them both during the night. Especially that boy. He’s got quite a temper.” 

You sighed, grabbing some clothes and walking quickly to your bathroom, leaving Levi behind in the closet. _There has to be something I can do. Levi may be right, but God damn it, I’m going to at least try to find something to ward the ghosts away. I’d be fine sharing my house with Levi, but I’m not sharing it with Marco, or the others. I’m going to find a way to get them out._

_Maybe learning about the house’s past would help,_ a small voice in your head suggested. _Maybe the house is built on a Native American burial ground and that’s why they’re hanging around. Or maybe there’s a portal open in the house, and you need to close it._

_It could be a lead,_ you mused as you got dressed and ready for the day. Through the blinds in the bathroom, you could see it was a grey and rainy day. _I am not biking all the way downtown to the library in this weather._

_You have neighbors that seemed pretty knowledgeable on the house. Go over to their house and ask them what they know,_ the voice said. 

_Well, it’s nearby, and my only shot. I’ll go try it._ After throwing your pajamas into the dirty clothes hamper, you went downstairs, slipped on some rain boots and ventured out into the cold, wet day. _Let’s see, the Reiss House is a few doors down to my . . . left. Yes, left. I hope someone’s home; that would suck if I showed up and no one’s home._

You knocked on the door of the grand mansion and were greeted by Ymir. 

“Sorry to show up uninvited, Ymir,” you apologized as she let you in and led you into the family room. 

“Don’t worry about it. We live for uninvited guests. Guys, [First] is here to pay us a visit!” she announced to her three roommates, all huddled on the two couches in the room. Sasha scooted over and enthusiastically patted the work cushion in between her and Annie. You murmured your thanks as you accepted the seat. 

“How did you like the cookies?” Sasha asked eagerly. 

“They were delicious, thank you,” you replied with a chuckle, smiling brightly at her. 

“So, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Annie asked. “I can’t imagine you walking over here just to hang out with us.” 

“Well, I-I sorta did,” you shrugged, feeling a bit hurt at her words. “But, I was actually wondering if you could tell me more about the history of my house.” 

“Do you _really_ want to get into that? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss,” Ymir stated bluntly from her spot next to Krista. _That’s . . . not a good sign,_ you thought, shifting uncomfortably in your seat. 

“She’s got a right to know what happened there,” Krista said, a hint of defensiveness in her voice before turning to talk to you. “Well, [First], to be honest, I doubt any of us know what’s really happened in the house versus what we’ve grown up hearing. Every town has to have a haunted house, and the Ackerman House got the short end of the stick and became the community haunted house.” 

“We can tell you for sure that there’s been at least five deaths in the house,” Annie informed you. “But, people go missing either during or after a stupid amateur ghost hunting session in the house, so really it could be higher.” 

“A majority of the known deaths were back when the house was first built, though,” Sasha said hurriedly, as if to comfort you. It wasn’t working. “Local legend has it that the house’s owner, Kenny Ackerman, had a pretty daughter named Mikasa. She was involved with Eren Yeager, the son of the couple that built the Yeager House. Kenny was involved in some crime, and was about to be arrested and was trying to leave town with Mikasa before he was thrown in jail. Apparently Eren was over when Kenny decided to skip town and didn’t like it. They say he killed Kenny to keep Mikasa in town, and then accidently killed Mikasa during a fight. And after he saw what he did, he killed himself.” _Maybe I should have listened to Ymir and let it go,_ you realized, a sick feeling beginning to bubble in your stomach. 

“That’s just one of the versions of the story,” Ymir said casually, looking at your horrified expression. “There’s a lot of variations when it comes to what happened at the Ackerman House. Some say Kenny found out about Mikasa and Eren planning to elope and murdered them before eating his gun, another says one of Kenny’s betrayed crime partners murdered the Ackermans and Eren was a family friend that was unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time, one story is that some Satanic ritual gone wrong happened and all three got murdered by a demon, and a very popular one is that the house was built on an ancient Indian burial ground and the vengeful spirits stabbed the three to death because they were mad about their graves being disturbed. The only thing that’s for certain is that Kenny Ackerman, his daughter Mikasa, and Eren Yeager were found stabbed to death in the basement of the Ackerman House. Basically, for every clichéd horror story out there, there’s a corresponding version of it but with the Ackerman family.” _Jesus Christ, what’s my family gotten into?_

“But either way, there’s not much for sure known about the crime. Kenny Ackerman was a hated figure in the community; he had too many enemies and not to mention he was a big figure in the underground and the murders could have been carried out by some criminal with a grudge against him,” Sasha commented. 

“But everything is very vague. The library doesn’t have much more information on it. It happened hundreds of years ago and most of the information was either poorly kept or didn’t make it over the ages,” Annie said. 

“God,” you murmured, staring at the coffee table in horror. _I think I’m gonna throw up,_

“Yeah, it’s terrible,” Krista shook her head. 

“Wait, you said there were at least _five_ deaths in the house? What were the other two?” you asked, immediately regretting the decision to ask another question about the house. 

“Well, around the time of the Ackerman Murders, there was so much blood and so much evidence, like bloody handprints and tufts of hair that didn’t belong to the victims, of there being a fourth victim. Although a body was never found, they figured someone died there as well, but who it was no one ever found out. The case remains cold, and it’ll probably never be solved,” Krista shrugged. 

“The other was in the nineties. The son of a family that moved in there was found dead in one of the bedrooms,” Annie informed you. “The police never figured out how, but he was basically cut in half.” The image of the spirit Levi called Marco flashed in your head. “It’s another cold case murder that happened in the house.” 

“Jesus Christ, how? _How?_ How did any of that happen? _Why_ did any of that happen?” you asked them, looking at them pleadingly, hoping they were just messing with you. Their somber expressions confirmed your darkest fears, and their shrugs told you it was a mystery to them as well. 

“If you want my two cents, probably what happened was Kenny Ackerman killed his daughter and Eren Yeager. Whether the kids were going to elope, or were just friends and he thought otherwise, I don’t know and neither does anyone else. But I think he killed them, but got gravely injured with a fight from Eren or the unidentified fourth person,” Ymir said as you continued to stare off into space. _Is that who Levi is? The fourth victim? He must be; there’s no other explanation._

“Look, [First], I mean things could be a lot worse. You could be living in that freaky-ass house from _American Horror Story._ If you live there, you’re royally fucked. But at least with this house, that shit won’t happen,” Ymir tried to reassure you. 

“It could be better though, and she could be living in the Haunted Mansion,” Krista pointed out. 

“Who the fuck would want to live in the Haunted Mansion? You have some crazy Ghost Host that goes around magically putting people in stretching rooms with no entrances when clearly it has windows, since it connects to the cupola on the roof and that has windows, and an ax-crazy black widow. The Haunted Mansion would be just as bad to live in as Murder House,” Ymir argued. 

“Okay but at least with the Haunted Mansion there’s mostly kind spirits, whereas Murder House is fully of crazy ghosts,” Sasha backed up Krista’s claim. 

“We don’t know that for sure, though,” Ymir argued. “All we know is that there’s nine hundred and ninety-nine ghosts and there’s room for one more. If you ask me, that sounds vaguely threatening.” You laughed at Ymir’s remark, and slowly the horrors these girls had told you faded away as you all argued on what the better house would be to live in, the Haunted Mansion or Murder House. 

It was almost dark by the time you reluctantly returned home. Your new friends had given you the offer of a sleepover, and although you wanted to stay, you remembered Levi’s words about your parents not being safe if you were gone so you trudged on home. To your surprise, your parents were home when you got back. You found them in the dining room, eating dinner without you. _Oh great, I didn’t tell them where I was going. I am so fucked,_ you thought as you walked in. 

“There you are, [First]! We were wondering when you’d get back,” your mother said as you sat down at the table, preparing yourself for the scolding that was going to come. “We saw your note and thought that maybe you were going to have dinner with the Reiss House girls.” _Note? I didn’t leave a note._

“Yeah, we ordered some pizza,” you replied. 

“Well, I’m glad you decided to go bond with our new neighbors. What did you do?” your mother asked. 

“We talked . . . and then we got into a debate about whether the house from _American Horror Story_ would be better to live in than the Haunted Mansion, and our conclusion was the Haunted Mansion would be better as long as you were in an area of the house that didn’t have the negative spirits near it. And then we marathoned a few episodes of _American Horror Story_ before getting too grossed and creeped out, and then we just watched TV the rest of the time.” 

“That sounds like a good time,” your father said. 

“It was. Am I done with my interrogation? Can I go?” you asked. 

“All right, we’ll just grill you for more details another time,” your mother laughed as you stood up and quickly went up to your bedroom. You shut the door and locked it behind you. 

“Levi, did you write a note to my parents for me?” you asked into the open air, hoping that he would materialize. 

“Tch. Of course I did. Hysterical parents get on my nerves.” He was leaning against your closet door, arms crossed in front of his chest. 

“Thank you. I was so freaking out when I realized I hadn’t left a note for them, and I was expecting them to ground me, or something,” you explained walking to your bed and plopping down onto it. 

“You saw me leave?” you asked. 

“I heard you leave. I had to deal with Eren so I was a bit preoccupied, but I heard you leave the house and head over to the Reiss House,” he explained, walking over to you and standing by the edge of your bed. You scooted closer to your headboard to give him some room to sit down. He took the invitation and sat down. “So, what did you go over to there for?” 

“I went over to Krista’s to talk to her and her roommates about the history of the house.” 

“Oh? And what did they tell you?” he inquired, an annoying smirk on his face. 

“They said a lot of things. That Kenny Ackerman murdered his daughter and her boyfriend in the basement, Eren killed the Ackermans and then committed suicide, the three were killed by one of Kenny’s enemies, lots of different things,” you told him. He chuckled darkly and leaned back. 

“None of those stories are even remotely true,” he informed you. 

“Well then, what really happened?” you asked. He became oddly quiet, looking away from you. _Oh no, did I say something wrong?_ “I-it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry, I was just curious,” you added quickly. 

“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. I won’t tell you what happened, but I will say this. The other spirits in the house have been affected by the initial deaths in the house and it’s corrupted them. This house has had too much bloodshed.” The last part was almost murmured, as if he didn’t want you to hear. 

“So I’ve heard,” you commented, glancing over at him. His apathetic expression had a note of somberness to it. _He’s probably seen so much death in this here. Poor thing,_ you thought. You placed your hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. 

“I’ve changed my mind. I’m staying with you during the night from now on so I can protect you,” he announced. 

“Y-you’d do that for me?” you asked, relief flooding into your veins. 

“Tch. Idiot, I’m not about to leave you defenseless. You have no way to ward to others without my protection, and I’m sick of having so much death in this house. I’ll keep you safe during the night, but during the day, you’re on your own. Got it?” 

“Got it.” 

“Good.” 

“Hey, Levi?” 

“What is it now?” You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. _He’s so warm. You wouldn’t think he’s a ghost,_ you mused as his hand patted you on the back. 

“I really appreciate this,” you thanked him. 

“It’s nothing. I promise I’ll do my best to keep you safe,” he vowed. 

As you tried to sleep, all you could think of was Levi sitting on the foot of your bed, reading the various books from your bookshelf, and what your new friends had told you about the house. _Did you die down there,_ you wanted to ask him. _What happened to you that there was no body, only tufts of hair and so much blood? How did you die? Why did you die? What did you do to be murdered in the basement of my house?_

Despite Levi’s comforting presence, you found it hard to fall asleep. All you think of were questions that had no answers and images of what the basement would have looked like after the murder. 

_If my friends were wrong with their theories, what really happened in this house and why won’t you tell me what happened?_


	3. The Basement

“Oh my God, this party’s great! Thanks for inviting me!” you shouted to Krista over the loud music.

“Oh, it’s our pleasure! We’re so happy you could make it!” she yelled back. It was Halloween night, and the two of you were leaning against a wall. She and her roommates were throwing a party and you, with your parents being out for the night, decided to attend their party. You took another sip of the amazing mixed drink Ymir had made (you had learned that she was a part-time bartender, and from the delicious drink she had made you, you figured she was bringing in some serious cash). 

“How many people are here, again?” you asked Krista. 

“It’s just us and the Braun House boys, who went with us to Annie’s dance recital remember? We wanted it to be small,” she answered, her blue eyes finding Reiner and Annie arguing. Although you usually hated it when people fought, you had to laugh at the sight of Reiner, dressed up as Rin Matsuoka yelling at the tiny Annie in a Varia Suit. 

“Trouble in paradise?” you snickered. “What are they arguing about now?” 

“I don’t know, but I hope they stop soon,” Krista sighed, taking a sip of her Aunt Roberta cocktail. 

“I . . . I should probably go break it up. Hold my drink,” you said, pushing your drink into her hand and walking over the feuding blonds. A very tall, dark-haired boy you recognized as Bertolt approached the two as well. _He’s got nice abs. In fact, he’s got a nice body,_ you realized, looking up and down his shirtless, spandex-clad body. 

“Reiner, stop, it’s not important,” the tall boy was saying, grabbing Reiner’s shoulders and trying to pull him away from Annie. 

“You crack one more joke about my nose and I will break your shins,” Annie growled at Reiner. You awkwardly grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her away. 

“Hey, let’s calm down now. Reiner’s just teasing you. You know what you need? A drink. Let’s go do that,” you nervously laughed, dragging Annie into the kitchen and placing her onto a stool at the island. “Ymir, can you make something to calm down Annie? She’s getting into fights. Again.” Ymir chuckled darkly, opening the fridge. 

“Some warm milk should do it. That always puts her to sleep, and it sounds like she needs a nap,” Ymir commented. “I’ll go put her to bed after she’s done; you can go back to the party.” 

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” you told her gratefully, leaving the kitchen and going back into the dim, neon-light and fog-filled living room. Reiner was in the corner talking to Krista and Bertolt. 

“You all right, Reiner?” you asked as you approached the three. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he pouted, refusing to look you in the eye. You softly chuckled, looking down at the watch on your wrist. Surprise jolted you as you saw your curfew was almost up. 

“Ah, shit. It’s getting late, and I promised my parents I’d be home by midnight,” you said. 

“Darn, and the party was just getting started,” Krista lamented, giving you a hug. “Are you coming to the beach with us tomorrow?” 

“Hell yeah I am,” you replied, flashing her a dazzling smile. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” 

“A-are you gonna walk home alone?” Bertolt asked. 

“I guess, yeah. I only live like a few doors down, so it’s not a big deal,” you shrugged. 

“Actually we had a problem last year of people breaking into houses because you know, old houses equals ghosts and spooky times,” Reiner informed you, looking sick to his stomach. _Too many shots,_ you figured. “It may be a good idea to have someone with you when you’re heading home.” 

“I can walk you home, if you like,” Bertolt offered quietly. 

“I . . . I’d really appreciate that, Bert,” you told him. After a final wave goodbye to your friends, the two of you headed back to your house. “So, this neighborhood actually has problems on Halloween?” you asked, dodging trick-or-treaters left and right. 

“Yeah. Every year something awful seems to happen. We usually have cops ride through every so often to make sure everything’s in order. Loads of people break into the Yeager and Ackerman Houses every year, trying to find ghosts,” he informed you. “It’s not Halloween unless you hear sirens.” You laughed, but you couldn’t help but feel uneasy at his words. 

“But no one gets hurt, right?” you questioned. 

“If you go to the Yeager House, you’re usually fine. I can’t say the same for the Ackerman House. People got hurt whenever there was a break-in. Nothing too serious, but it was still enough to land them at the hospital.” – He paused, green eyes glancing at you – “You . . . you feel safe in the house, right? You’re gonna be fine being there by yourself until your parents get home?” 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” you replied. _After all, I got Levi to protect me,_ you added silently as you reached your porch. 

“Okay. If you need anything, or get scared and want company, just give me a call and I’ll come over and hang until your parents come home,” he offered. 

“Aw, thanks, Bertl. I’ll be sure to give you a call if I need anything,” you said. You got your keys out and unlocked your front door. You waved goodbye, and the two of you parted ways. 

“Who was that?” Levi’s deep baritone voice rang through the foyer as you hung your coat on a rack. 

“My friend Bertolt. He lives in the Braun House,” you explained, smirking at Levi’s irritated expression. “What, are you jealous?” 

“I’m not jealous. I have a right to know who steps foot on my property,” he argued, following you as you trudged up the stairs. 

“It’s not your property anymore, Levi. It’s mine and my parents’,” you reminded him, walking into your room and grabbing some pajamas to change into. 

“I was here long before you were even a thought, shitty brat. Show some respect,” he said, turning around so you could change without his prying eyes. 

“Sorry, but no,” you retorted, jolting as your phone vibrated. It was a text message from your parents, letting you know something came up and they weren’t going to be home until early the next morning. “Ugh, my parents aren’t coming home till tomorrow. I could’ve stayed at the party for another hour or two!” 

“Halloween can get crazy here. It’d be safer if you stayed home,” he pointed out as you grabbed your laptop, deciding to spend the rest of the night watching movies. You pressed the power button; it didn’t turn on. 

“Ugh, Levi! Stop sulking around my room when I’m gone! This is the third time my laptop’s been dead this week! Seriously, you’re going to run up our electric bill!” 

“Tch. It’s not my fault manifesting drains your electronics. That sounds like a you problem,” he said, leaning against your desk. You groaned in frustration, striding across the room to grab your charger. 

“I just wanted to watch a movie, or something. Now I have to go sit at my desk and do it,” you groaned. 

“Your parents are gone; you can go downstairs and watch it on your TV,” he pointed out. 

“I guess. I wanted to be curled up in bed, though,” you sighed. “But, the couch will do for now, I guess.” You and Levi made your way downstairs, and on the way down you could hear the faint sound of talking coming from different directions. 

“Is that the others?” you asked, walking into the kitchen to get started on some popcorn. 

“Yes. I guess they figured they’d have the house to themselves tonight and are upset that you’re home,” he explained. 

“You figure? You mean you don’t know for sure? Don’t you keep in contact with them, like, all the time?” you demanded. 

“I keep them in line and get smart when they’re up to no good, like Marco was the first night you were here. I don’t talk to them like they’re my friends, because they aren’t. I don’t associate with spirits like them unless it’s about business or punishment,” he told you. A loud bang reverberated through the house, the glass of the window shaking a little from the sound. Levi groaned. 

“God damn it, Eren. Stay here, [First]. I need to go see what that brat is up to,” he ordered you, quickly evaporating from sight. Without Levi there, you felt almost naked. Vulnerable. _Come on, [First], I’m sure everything’s fine. Eren’s probably just having a temper tantrum,_ you tried to calm yourself down. Levi’s words about Eren being violent, along with the rumors he had killed everyone in the house, resurfaced and made anxiousness snake through your body like poison. _Levi will keep you safe. He wouldn’t have left if he thought there was any risk I’d get_ – a glass flew from the cabinet across from you and hit the cabinet right next to your head. 

You screamed, stumbling back and falling onto the ground. Scrambling to your feet, you ran out of the room. Another glass came flying at through the open doorway, and you quickly dodged it, heading into the hallway. _Oh God, oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God, I have to find somewhere safe!_ A third glass was heading straight for your head, and you threw open the nearest door and threw yourself inside, shutting the door behind you. The room was dark, and when you turned the lights on you realized it was the basement. _God damn it, I’m gonna end up being the person in the first five minutes of_ Supernatural, you gulped, looking down the staircase. It didn’t actually look that dilapidated, but the fact people had died down here helped make everything creepier. _I’ll just stay up here until Levi comes looking for me. I can’t go down further into the basement._

But you weren’t given the chance to play that plan out. 

“Get out here, [First]. We need to have a talk,” a boy’s unfamiliar voice called out, muffled through the wood door. _Eren,_ you realized. _Then . . . then who was making the noises from upstairs? Mikasa? Marco? Another ghost I don’t know about?_ You could hear Eren opening the doors not too far from you. _Shit, this door doesn’t have a lock and he’s coming for me. Fuck it all! I’m gonna have to go down into the basement._ You practically flew down the stairs, looking for a safe place to hide. Twisted shadows were strewn across the dirty floor as you searched for a good place to hide. Out of all the places you could have hid, of course it had to be the spooky basement. _This is fucking huge, why would someone make such a big basement?_ you groaned as you searched for a hiding spot. The door to the basement opened, and you could hear footsteps slowly making their way down the stairs. _Shit!_ Through a space between the wall and a two by four, you could see a small niche to hide it. You took the wood off of the wall, stepping inside before putting it back. 

The niche was very tiny, maybe five feet by five feet at the very most. It was musty, damp, and dirty. There were no lights in there, so you were left in the dark. You could hear the pounding of your heart as the footsteps got louder and louder, coming closer and closer towards you. _Levi, Levi please, come and help me,_ you thought desperately. _I need you, I need your help. I don’t want Eren to find me. I don’t want to know what will happen if he does._ The piece of wood was thrown off of the wall, eliciting a scream from you. 

“Tch. Keep your fucking voice down, you’ll make the neighbors call the police,” Levi scolded you harshly, poking his head into the room. You choked out a breath of relief before glaring at him. 

“I thought you were Eren! Why didn’t you say it was you when you opened the door?” you asked. 

“I didn’t think you’d get scared that easily. I took care of Eren and Mikasa; they’re going to behave for the rest of the night. Now come on, let’s get you out of this disgusting pit.” You stood up, gazing around the small space now that the light form the hallway lit it up. Splashes of red were in a corner, and automatically you imagined the worse. But when Levi moved and more light hit the corner, you realized it was scraps of very old, very rotted red cloth. 

“What in the hell?” you wondered aloud, bending over to look at the scraps closely. You noticed that there seemed to be brown stains around the red scraps. 

“What are you doing?” Levi asked impatiently. You imagined he was rolling his eyes, too. 

“There’s some bits of fabric in the corner,” you explained, waving him over. He stayed planted in the hallway. “Looks like shreds of red wool, or something.” 

“Am I going to have to drag you out of there? Come on, it’s unsanitary in there,” he said, walking in and grabbing your shoulder. You sighed. Standing up, you took one more glance at the fabric in the corner before following Levi out of the basement. It was unsettling, to say the least. 

You only managed to get through the first half of _Scary Movie_ until you were ready to pass out. Levi graciously helped you up to your room, but once you were in your room, a couple of loud bangs went through the entire home. 

“If that girl wasn’t dead already, I would kill her,” Levi muttered, standing up from his place on the edge of your bed. 

“No, stay. It doesn’t matter, Levi. Please, just stay here,” you nearly begged him. After what happened earlier, you were not eager for a repeat. 

“It’ll only take a second. I need to deal with this once and for all,” he told you. “If something happens, I want you to scream as loudly as possible so I know something’s wrong and I can come and protect you. Got it?” 

“Yeah,” you replied weakly, watching him vanish into thin air. You kept your light on, watching your surroundings intensely. On edge. Worried about what would happen next. 

You didn’t have to wait long. 

“Get out.” The voice was soft, feminine, but colder than ice. The translucent figure of a young woman appeared next to your bed, her throat hacked and cut and her body nearly torn to shreds. You screamed louder than you thought possible, hoping for Levi to show up to rescue you. If he was on his way, he was being too slow. The woman, Mikasa, you assumed, charged you, forcing you out of bed and into the hallway. Screaming in-between pants, you ran down the hall and the stairs, Mikasa hot on your heels, screeching in an inhuman voice to leave her home. Fear coursed through your veins, seemingly replacing your blood. The most important thing to you was getting out of the house. You reached the ground floor, taking a sharp turn into the foyer and out onto your porch, into the very real, very warm body of Bertolt Hoover. 

“[First]? [First], are you okay?” he asked hurriedly, brushing some of your hair out of your face. Your hands bunched up, grabbing fistfuls of his Iwatobi Swim Club jacket as tears welled in your eyes, the fear and adrenaline taking over your body. Wails came out of you, uncontrolled, primal sobs fanning out into the cold night air. “I-it’s going to be okay, [First], it’s going to be okay. Do you want to tell me what happened?” 

“N-no,” you sobbed into his chest, letting his arms envelope you in a comforting hug. “What a-are you doing h-h-here, anyways?” 

“We kept hearing weird noises coming from your house, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Your friend Levi seemed kinda pissed off, is he . . . are you okay, [First]?” His voice grew quietly serious, pushing you away only so he could look you dead in the eyes. 

“H-he treats me fine, I just . . . You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” you sniffled. 

“[First], what the fuck are you doing outside? I thought I told you to . . . what are you still doing here, Hoover?” Levi’s deep voice demanded as he walked across the lawn towards you two. 

“I heard her screaming so I turned back to see what was wrong,” Bertolt replied coldly. 

“Tch. I told you everything was fine,” Levi said. 

“Yeah, because [First] crying means she’s okay,” Bertolt commented sarcastically. 

“I-I’m fine, really, Bertl,” you replied, wiping the tears from your eyes. “I just thought I saw a ghost and I got scared, is all.” 

“You were screaming like someone was trying to kill you,” he said, staring daggers at Levi. 

“I thought a bloody, hacked-up girl was chasing me through my own home, of course I was going to scream like that. Please, Bertolt, I’m fine. I just got caught up in the moment with fear, okay? I promise I’m fine,” you tried to reassure him. There was no way in hell you were telling him the truth that there were ghosts in your home. Although you couldn’t think of a reason outright, you had a gut feeling that confirming your house was haunted was a terrible idea. Bertolt looked at you skeptically, but decided to let it go. 

“All right. If you want to stay somewhere else, you’re more than welcome to stay with me at the Braun House. Or, I’m sure Krista and Annie would take you in as well. We’re here if you need help, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow for the beach day, [First]. Good night.” 

“Good night,” you replied, watching him walk across the street to his house. Sighing, you turned back to walk to your own. Mikasa stood in the doorway, looking enraged. Levi sent her a deadly look, and she vanished. It was still enough to send a shock of fear down your spine. 

“Are you really okay, [First]? Did she hurt you?” Levi asked, leading you back inside and back up to your bedroom. 

“No, she didn’t do anything. She just screamed at me to get out of the house and chased me out,” you said, climbing back into bed. You weren’t tired, though, and you figured you weren’t going to be getting any sleep tonight. “Levi?” 

“What?” 

“I . . . I know it’s a lot to ask, but . . . but can you stay with me at all times now? I mean, I know you have to keep the others in check, but every time you leave, it seems like they go after me, and I’m scared of being here and being targeted forever, and I -” 

“You’re right; it _is_ a lot to ask of me. And while I do want to keep you safe, I think I found something that will make that unnecessary.” 

“Wait, what do you mean?” you asked. 

“I’ve been doing some digging through some ancient books lying around the basement, and I’ve found a ceremony that may banish the other spirits from the house. I don’t know if it’s real or not, I’ve certainly never heard of it before now, but I think if it gets the others out, it’s worth a shot. What do you say? Do you wanna do it?” He looked at you expectantly, waiting for an answer. After all that had happened tonight, his reveal was music to your ears. It meant safety. Permanent safety, not having to rely on him to be safe. And although you loved Levi’s company, having your own independence was something you wanted very badly. It was a perfect deal. 

“I’m in.”


	4. The Ritual

Krista: Are you sure you don’t wanna come to the beach? We’re gonna miss you!

Sasha: I can’t believe you’re not coming with us! I’m going to miss you! I’ll cover for you and bring the dessert, but I wish you were going to the beach with us! 

Annie: Thank you helping get that dumbass Reiner away from me last night. I fucking hate his jokes. 

Ymir: Sorry if Sasha’s giving you shit since you’re not coming. I wish you would come, but I get that you’ve got other things to do. Maybe next time you’ll come with? 

Bertolt: How are you doing, [First]? Did you get some sleep last night? 

“What are you doing with my phone?” you demanded, glaring at Levi. He glared right back before tossing your phone to you. 

“It was making noises so I wanted to see what was wrong,” he explained. 

“Don’t look at my texts again. That’s invading my privacy,” you said, outraged. 

“I only did it because I wanted to see if anything was wrong. Don’t get your panties in a twist, brat,” he rolled his eyes at you, sitting down on your desk. “So, when are we doing this ritual?” 

“Well, my parents have work around four, so I was thinking around then,” you explained. 

“Good, that works for me too.” 

“Is there anything I should do to get ready for the ceremony? Like, should I go into town and grab some things?” you asked. 

“You can’t eat anything until the ceremony, we need certain things to burn, candles, and bowls that I can probably find on property in the basement,” he said, picking up the book and leafing through it. 

“I can’t eat? Why?” you questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“I don’t know. It’s just what the book has down, that people performing the ceremony shouldn’t eat before it,” he shrugged. “We should be able to get the plants from the Yeager House’s garden, and everything else is easily accessible here.” 

“Wait, the Yeager House? You mean we have to break in?!” you asked, eyes widened at his implication. 

“Tch, it’s not like anyone lives there anymore. It’s not a big deal. And we’re taking plants that’ll grow back, especially with all this fucking rain. It’s not like we’re looting the house,” he explained, sounding like he was explaining something to a toddler. You bit your lip and nodded. You didn’t like the idea of trespassing onto someone’s property, but if it got rid of the ghosts, then you were going to do it. 

“And . . . Levi, it’s not going to get rid of you, right?” your voice was nearly a whisper. 

“No. It won’t get rid of me, I promise,” he replied softly. “I’m staying in this house until the end of time. It’ll take a lot more than this ceremony to get rid of me.” You sighed a shaky breath of relief. 

“Good. So, what’s our plan for getting everything together?” 

*An Hour Later* 

The Yeager House was simply gorgeous. Marcel had mentioned that the community made an effort in keeping it nice-looking when it wasn’t occupied, so it didn’t become a community eyesore. Reiner had told you that after Eren Yeager had been found dead in the Ackerman House, his family moved never to be seen again, and since then it was owned off and on by several different families. But for whatever reason, they would end up moving away and years later a new family would move in. 

“Shit, this is so wrong,” you breathed under your breath, looking up at the huge house as Levi worked on finding the old gate. 

“No one lives here anyone, I don’t see how it’s wrong,” he commented, grabbing the curled iron rods and giving them a good shake. “Goddamn it! I know there’s a gate back here somewhere, I just can’t fucking remember where it is.” 

“Why didn’t you ask Eren? After all, this used to be his house,” you asked. 

“Tch, like I’m getting help from that shitty brat. I would rather die again than get help from him,” Levi declared, grabbing another piece of iron and jiggling it. It shook, and soon Levi found the lock and pulled the gate open. “All right, go through this green shit, and I’ll meet you on the other side.” 

“What, you’re not gonna help me get through this stuff?!” you demanded, pointing to the thick foliage growing behind the gate. Levi disappeared with the blink of an eye. 

“Hurry up, you’re the one with the basket,” you heard him tell you from the other side. 

“You’re such a gentleman,” you commented sarcastically, pushing through the foliage. It wasn’t as thick as you thought it was, but it was still difficult to get through. Levi didn’t wait for you, already getting to work on collecting the plants you needed. You hurried over to him with the basket, letting him put his harvest into it. 

“We’re able to get salvia, poppy, and globe amaranth here, but we’re going to have to go into town to get the roses,” Levi said, picking the purple flowers and putting them in the basket. “Back in its heyday, the Yeager’s garden was known for having a very extensive, very top-notch rose garden, but I doubt that’s the case anymore.” _So, you’ve been the the Yeager House before? Interesting to know,_ you thought. _Especially since you never tell me anything that relates to your past._

“Well, we might as well check it out. What colors do we need?” you inquired. 

“Black, and then red and white. I know they used to have red and white growing here, but black will be tricky to get a hold of. I might have to go into town and go by that occult shop, if it’s still standing.” 

“The one near the beach? Yeah, it’s still there. Ymir and I went shopping there for Halloween decorations,” you recalled. 

“So it _is_ still standing. Good. Can you go over that corner over there and get some of that red salvia. We’re going to need all of it for this ritual tonight.” 

*Three Hours Later* 

_God, I really hate it down here. Why did Levi tell me to wait for him down here? Considering what happened last time I was in the basement, I would’ve thought he wouldn’t want me down here,_ you thought. You were sitting on the cold stone floor of the basement, every candle you could possibly find in your home lit and surrounding you. It was dark, and you couldn’t help the sick feeling of nervousness rocking in your stomach. You hadn’t seen any of the other ghosts yet, but you were worried about the prospect of coming face-to-face with any one of them at any given moment. 

_[First], please don’t freak out. I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you._

Son of a bitch. 

You jolted as Marco materialized in front of you, his form shimmering and flickering in the candlelight. 

“Get away from me!” you shrieked, scooting back away from him. He remained where he was. 

_I won’t hurt you, I promise. I just want to talk to you. Please,_ he pleaded with you, the remaining half of his face looking extremely upset. 

“Like hell you’re telling the truth!” you screeched, feeling your stomach drop to the floor as your back hit the wall. 

_But I am! I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Please, just hear me out. Don’t do this ritual. It’s not going to banish us from the house, and I don’t want you getting hurt. Please, just back out now. I don’t want you getting –_

“Marco.” Levi’s deep voice rang through the basement. In a flash, the boy was gone. “Did he hurt you?” Levi asked gently, putting down the basket of flowers and walking over to you. 

“N-no, I’m fine. He just told me this wouldn’t work and just lies. But I’m fine.” _Physically._ Levi offered his hands to you, and you grabbed them. He helped pull you to your feet. His hand was soft and cold, and for some reason you could feel the heat rise to your cheeks as he touched you. But as soon as he was there, he was gone, putting the flowers in the bowls. “You were able to get the roses?” 

“Yes. And for cheaper than what I thought they were going to be. In fact, I had some money left over from what you gave me so I decided to pick something up for you.” He dug into his pocket and threw something small to you. Your hands grasped the medallion, the leather strap spilling out in between your fingers. The image of a pomegranate had been carved into the wooden disk, blood red stones helping bring the image to life. 

“Aw, Levi. It’s so pretty! You shouldn’t have,” you thanked him, putting the necklace on. 

“It’s nothing. Are you ready? We have one more thing to prepare, and then we can start this,” he said, sitting down in the circle of candles. You sat down opposite of him. He grabbed your wrist, his thumb stroking the soft, vulnerable flesh. 

“I’m sorry, but we need blood for this ritual,” he said, pulling a wickedly sharp knife out of a bowl. You whimpered, shrinking back a bit. 

“Why do we need blood? Doesn’t that seem a bit dark to you?” you asked, [e/c] eyes wearily watching the knife shine in the candlelight. 

“This is a dark ritual. After all, we’re trying to banish spirits. It won’t hurt for long, I promise. If I could use anyone else’s blood, I would, but the ceremony calls for the blood of a virgin.” 

"Excuse you, but I have had sex with loads of guys!" you protested, blushing. 

"I doubt it. I bet if I stuck two fingers up you right now, they'd just barely fit," he commented. You didn’t think it was possible, but your face turned a darker shade of red. 

"That's not how vaginas work," you argued weakly as he brought the knife to your skin. The blade cut through you like a hot knife through butter, your blood dripping into a small bowl. Hissing in pain and eyes pricking with acidic tears, you watched him make one, two, three more cuts. The crimson liquid dripped agonizingly slow into the bowl. Levi deemed it full enough after a few minutes, and handed you some bandages to temporarily fix yourself up. 

“Once the ceremony is done, I’ll clean the cuts myself, but for now, that should help finish off the bleeding,” he explained, pouring small amounts of blood into the five bowls with the flowers in them. He then poured the remaining blood onto the stone floor in between you two, making a strange, small, and complex symbol with the leftover blood. Placing the bowl over to the side, he handed you a few matches. “Put the lit matches in the flower bowls while I do this incantation. Got it?” 

“Got it,” you repeated. The book was open on his lap, and he began the chant of words in a language you didn’t know. The whole ceremony had you rather unnerved, but with Levi’s voice rising through the air, it made you feel more comfortable. More protected. You did your part, lighting the bloody flowers on fire and letting them burn as Levi went through the incantation. 

A dark purple, shimmering mist rose from the ground, curling itself around your body. You looked to Levi, about to say something when he shook his head. “No, stay quiet,” he seemed to say. You bit your lip, anxiety racking your stomach as the mist coiled around you. It was warm and felt invasive, brushing against your breasts and crotch as it slowly spread around your body. It was just as invasive on Levi, but unlike you, he didn’t seem bothered by it. His eyes were closed as he recited the incantation, letting the mist wrap itself around his body. His voice didn’t help you feel more at ease. _Please let this be over soon,_ you thought in distress, closing your eyes. _I don’t want this stuff on my body. It feel weird and I just want the ghosts to be gone. I just –_

“[First], you can open your eyes.” 

You obeyed Levi. The mist was gone, the plants were no longer on fire, and where your blood had been spilled was a dark black emblem emblazoned on the ground. 

“Did it work?” you asked meekly, standing up. 

“I hope so. Let’s blow these candles out and head upstairs. I need to clean your cuts so they don’t get infected,” Levi said, flipping the light switch on. You did have to admit, everything felt a little calmer now that the ceremony was done. You helped him put out the candles and put the bowls away in a tucked away niche, and walked back upstairs. _It’s over. It’s finally over,_ you sighed in relief, glancing over at Levi as you two made your way to a bathroom. _I don’t have to be scared about sleeping in my own home anymore. I can finally rest easy._

You had never gotten such good sleep in your life than you did that night. 

The house was at peace, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, you felt brave enough to walk alone through the hallways of your home. Levi even seemed to be in a better mood, playfully bickering with you as he helped you take down Halloween decorations and start to put up more generic autumn ones. You had never recalled having so much fun in your life. 

That chilly night, you curled up in bed, Levi next to you reading a book you had gotten for him at the library and hilariously criticizing it. 

“I don’t think bodies are supposed to work like that. And who the hell fills out sex-related paperwork? That makes no fucking sense,” he commented irritated, glaring at the pages while you chuckled. 

“Well, apparently that gets him off, or something,” you laughed, closing your eyes. 

“How in the fuck does that . . . what the hell are you doing here?” His voice went from criticizing to hostile in mere seconds. You opened your eyes to see a translucent figure standing in your bedroom. His hair was messy, and he was missing his left arm, sinews and loose muscles hanging from the injury. Blood dripped from his head and around his eyes, and you were glad that it was dark and he was in pale, grey-like colors: if you had seen a good, colored look at him you probably would’ve thrown up. 

“We tried to warn you, [First]. You’re going to regret doing that ritual,” the boy said, aggressively staring you down. Levi stood up suddenly, approaching the boy. He vanished without another word. 

“Don’t listen to the brat, [First]. He and the others won’t harm you, I promise,” Levi said, sitting back down on your bed as you snuggled into the covers and pillow even more. 

_Oh God, it didn’t work. It didn’t work!_ You choked down a sob. _What am I going to do now?_


	5. The Tragedy of the Ackerman House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: sex, domestic abuse, bad ideological content, death, violence. Some of these aren't very prominent, but I'm letting you guys know just to be safe.

Light mewls filled the room as the ends of his ebony hair tickled your neck, his hand dipped into your panties and incessantly stroking your sweet spot. You sat on his lap, clinging to him as if for dear life. Your bare chest was pressing against his. You muffled yourself by burying your face in the crook of his neck, every so often peppering his cold skin with kisses.

“God, you’re so wet,” he purred, his finger dipping inside of you and then dragging his fingertip back to your clit. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” 

“Mmhm,” you replied, sounding almost strangled. You didn’t want your parents to hear you, and it was hard to remain quiet as ecstasy ran through your veins. He bit your neck and removed his hand from your underwear. You whimpered painfully, giving him a pleading look. He smirked in response. His fingers hooked into the waistband of your panties, pulling them down. You stood up slightly, letting him take them off easier. 

“You’re ready for this?” he asked, throwing your panties aside and sliding his briefs off. 

“I’m ready,” you replied. His cool hands rested on your hips as he positioned himself. He gently pushed you down onto him. A jolt of pain mixed with discomfort jolted through you, making you whimper while Levi moaned. 

“Shit, you feel so good,” he hissed, lifting you up to let you drop back down. Another shock of pain went through you. 

“Wait, no, it hurts,” you told him, resisting his hands. He sighed and stopped. 

“Tell me when,” he said, rubbing circles into your skin with his thumbs. You nodded, inhaling deeply. The pain only lasted for a few more seconds, and then you tried lowering yourself onto him. It still felt rather odd, but the pain was gone. 

Soft, quiet moans filled the room as your bodies meshed together, every motion sending you closer and closer to heaven. His lips brushed against your neck and every so often kissed or nipped your soft skin. 

“I’ve waited so long for this,” he admitted, gently lowering you onto your back. He continued thrusting, kissing your skin along your collar bones and moving the pomegranate medallion when it was in his way. His cold fingers left a trail of goose bumps as he gently stroked your thighs, pushing your legs closer. You could feel him getting deeper and deeper as the pleasure started boiling in your blood. “Ever since you walked in my door, I’ve had my sights set on this.” He started going harder, pushing himself with a lot of force. “Oh, God,” he moaned, pleasure written across his face. You imagined he was getting close to orgasming too. 

You only withstood a few more thrusts. Your orgasm shot through your veins, the sweet relief making you arch your back while you moaned his name into his neck. Levi didn’t last long after, giving a few more pushes until he buried himself inside you as he released his seed. Your name dripped from his lips as he pulled out, lying in bed beside you. 

“I . . . wow,” you softly laughed, curling up next to him. He faintly smirked, kissing your swollen lips. 

“That sums it up well,” he replied, nuzzling your neck. “You know what this means, right? It means you’re mine. And only mine. You got that?” 

“I think I can live with that,” you giggled, putting your head on his chest. “I-I love you, Levi.” 

“I love you too, [First],” he replied, giving your neck another kiss. You felt something grab your shoulder, shaking it roughly. 

“Oi, brat, wake up.” 

You opened your eyes. 

You were lying in bed, sunlight filtering into the room through your blinds. Levi was standing over you, hands on your shoulders. _Oh. It . . . it was all a dream. Damn,_ you thought, sitting up. 

“Tch. You’re going to be late to school if you don’t hurry up,” he said. You swung your legs over the side of your bed, slowly standing up. You felt sore; a slightly painful kind of sore. “You were restless last night, tossing and turning and sleeping in fucking weird positions. I was kind of surprised that you even got any sleep.” 

“Y-yeah, funny,” you nervously laughed, suddenly worried if you had said anything during your sleep. You glanced at your clock. You still had time to take a shower. “Did I . . . did I say anything while I was asleep?” you asked while you went through your closet for clean clothes. 

“You said something about a red doll and some girl named Aika, something about spooky enchiladas, and then right before you got into a really weird sleep position, you said, ‘run! She’s a ghost _and_ a bitch!’” You laughed, gathering up your clothes. 

“I totally don’t remember any of that,” you said. 

“I wouldn’t have either if it weren’t so damn weird or funny, in the case of the last two. Seriously? Were you dreaming about Mikasa chasing you again, or something?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“No. At least, I don’t think I was. I . . . I don’t really remember what I dreamed about last night,” you lied. You could feel a blush creeping onto your face, so you quickly left the room for your bathroom. _God. Do I really talk in my sleep? I need to fix that. I’m thankfully I didn’t like, moan his name or something, but I mean, what if I have another sex dream with him and I do? Ugh, I do_ not _want to explain that to him._

*Five Hours Later* 

UC Trost had the largest library in Rose County, and, thanks to Annie and Krista being students there, you were able to get in and check out books for your history project. Granted, it was checked out in their names, but they trusted you to be careful with the books you were checking out. The building was huge and filled to the brim with books. You could have spent an entire week going through the shelves and still be nowhere near done exploring. 

“So, what’s this whole project about? Maybe Krista or Reiner could help you out personally,” Annie suggested, helping you flip through some local encyclopedias. 

“I’m writing an essay for my local history class about the church’s influence during the early days of Trost,” you replied, flipping through a book about the families of the town. 

“Oh, I could probably help with that! My great-great-times I think five grandfather was a leader of the church back then. We donated a lot to the Historical Society recently, but I think we still have a few old journals lying around,” Krista replied. 

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” you told her. 

“Hey [First], you wanna see the original owners of your house?” Annie asked, lifting her book up and showing you the page. There was a copy of a painting. A gruff-looking man with straggly facial hair stood behind a young girl with very pretty black hair, a red scarf tied around her neck. The bits of red wool on the floor of your basement came into your mind. _That looks like . . . did I . . . is she . . . is she_ buried _there?!_

“Oh, I remember seeing that in the basement of the Ackerman House a few years ago, remember? When we were freshman?” Krista said. 

“Yeah. I think it’s hanging in the museum with the other original family portraits. At least, I know Reiner’s and Armin’s and yours are hanging there; I imagine the Ackerman family’s painting is there too,” Annie theorized. “[First], are you all right? You look a little pale.” 

“I, uh, I was in my basement and I found some scraps of red wool,” you said slowly, feeling terror pulsing through your veins. “I . . . Mikasa isn’t buried in my basement, right?” 

“Last time I checked no,” Annie said, soothing you. “She’s buried in the old Trost cemetery, between our neighborhood and downtown.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, they exhumed her bones a few years ago and then she was put back into her grave.” 

“She was exhumed?” you questioned. 

“Yeah. A few years ago the Historical Society got copies of the police reports from the murders and even some of the evidence, like the so-called fourth victim’s hair and some of the bloody clothing. They found something weird about her death in particular. They never outright stated why, but whatever they found in the reports made them want to dig her body back up and examine it,” Annie explained. 

“Wasn’t it that they thought she was pregnant, or something?" Krista inquired. 

“I think that was something they looked for at the time of her death and again when they dug her body up, but I don’t remember what the verdict was,” she shrugged. “No. They found something in the hair and some other document that point to the fourth victim being related to the Ackermans.” _What?_

“But I thought you said they weren’t sure if there even was a fourth victim,” you said. 

“That’s because it turns out that the scraps of bloody clothing from the Ackermans and Eren Yeager all got mixed up when the police gave them over to the Historical Society. They were able to determine which scraps were Mikasa’s, but when they tested the hair, it came up with an eighty percent similarity to her DNA, so everyone figured the hair was hers. But,” she added, glancing between the two of you. “The hair they found was a different hair type and shorter than what Mikasa had at the time of her death. So, the mystery about the fourth victim is still alive today because some of the ends don’t add up.” 

“That’s weird,” Krista said. She went on to say something else, but you didn’t hear her. _What? I don’t understand. The hair was nearly identical to Mikasa’s? But it wasn’t? How does that even work?_ “I mean, I knew from my great times seven grandfather’s journal that there were rumors going around about illegitimate Ackerman children, but I figured they weren’t true.” 

“Well, maybe they are,” Annie said. “I mean, how will we ever know if the kids themselves didn’t know. The only thing I want to know is, if it is the girl’s hair, why is it so different? And if there really was a fourth victim, where’s the body?” 

*Two Hours Later* 

The house was dark when you returned home from the library and dinner with Annie and Krista. You locked the door and flipped all the lights on, expelling darkness from the house. At least, in a visual sense. Levi was on your bed, your laptop open as he lazily scrolled through a page. 

“Your blog is very interesting,” he commented, the faintest grin on his face. You snatched your computer from him, shutting it as your face turned red. 

“Why the hell won’t you stay out of my private stuff?!” you demanded, putting it back down on the desk. 

“I was bored and it was there,” he replied, standing next to you in seconds. “By the way, Hoover’s following you now. His blog isn’t anything special, but I figured with all the talk about ‘friends are mutual’s’ was on your dashboard, I followed him back for you.” 

“Keep out of my personal stuff. It’s so . . . invasive,” you complained, striding back to your bed and lying down on it. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll stay out of your blog,” he gave in with a roll of his eyes, as if he thought you were overreacting. There was a silence as you tried to figure out what to say. You wanted to ask him a bout what happened that fateful day all those years ago, but you had no idea how to ask it. The medallion hanging from your neck weighed down on your chest uncomfortably, and you moved it to the side where you couldn’t bother you. 

“Levi, I have a question,” you started, taking a deep breath. 

“What?” 

“What really happened during the Ackerman Murders?” 

He was silent, the only sound in the room being your breathing. 

“Do you really want to know?” he asked darkly. 

“Yes.” He sighed, walking to your bed and sitting on it. You sat up, looking him dead in the eye. 

“I was born in 1868 in Mitras, the largest city in Sina County, down the coast from here. My mother was a whore that my father Kenny Ackerman frequented. She didn’t want me, and with Kenny’s apparent high-life, she gave me over to him before disappearing. Whether she was killed or something, I don’t know. All I know is she dropped out of the picture. Kenny’s wife wasn’t too happy about the fact that her husband had a bastard son. She didn’t like me, and neither did Kenny, so I was their burden. I was the secret bastard that no one wanted and hid away in the attic. 

“When I was seven years old, Kenny’s wife gave birth to their only child, my younger sister Mikasa. His wife died in childbirth, and he was left alone with two kids. I guess you could say it took its toll on him,” Levi laughed humorlessly. “The death didn't change anything. I was still left to fend for myself while Kenny spent all his time grooming Mikasa into becoming the next big thug in town. She didn’t want any of it. She was a great fighter and could’ve beaten the shit out of anyone if she wanted to, but she’s not that type of person. She only fought when she needed to, not to show off her power like our father did. 

“We moved out of Mitras and into Trost, where the land was cheaper and great big mansions could be made for not that much money. Granted, back then the Historic District residents were filthy rich so every house was made to be extra glorious, so I guess that's not saying much really. Once again, Mikasa was given the good treatment and given the nice bedroom. And I was put into the attic. Things just got worse from there. 

“Kenny basically started the criminal underground here in Trost, and although there was never any proof left of his crimes, everyone knew he was the one committing them. In this time, Mikasa would come and give me the all-clear, and she would let me out of the attic and we would spend time together. When Kenny was home, I had to be locked away into the attic to rot, and unfortunately, with Mikasa growing older and more resistant in taking after him, he started hitting her. Even now, I am fucking _pissed_ I was never able to protect her then. She was my sister, and I couldn’t even protect her when she needed it. I felt like the shittiest brother ever. 

“She became very close to our neighbor’s son, Eren Yeager. I thought he could be annoying and he didn’t seem to like me all that much, but he made Mikasa happy and that’s all I could ask for. I never really figured out if they were together or not; they were always denied it, but you know how some couples are, that pretend they aren’t together. So I never really knew. But they grew closer, and Mikasa’s eighteenth birthday came up. She and Eren decided they were going to go off and explore the world together. They couldn’t have picked a worse day to tell Kenny. 

“He was in a rage when they told him. I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard some of it. Him yelling, Eren yelling, Mikasa yelling. And eventually her screaming. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew something was wrong and I had to get to her. I broke my door open and went to go see what was wrong.” – He took a deep breath, staring at the blanket on top of your bedspread – “Eren looked like he was already dead by the time I got down to the basement. Kenny had Mikasa on the floor, screaming and punching her and slapping her and slashing at her. I tackled him and we struggled. I told Mikasa to run, but she was too scared to do a thing. I struggled with Kenny for his knife, but ultimately I didn’t disarm him. I lost my life, and I failed to save my sister. 

“Kenny burnt my body, shit if I know where my ashes are, but he didn’t realize he hadn’t completely killed Eren. He lost a lot of blood, but he wasn’t dead. He ended up killing Kenny before he could burn Mikasa's body, and Eren dropped dead due to blood loss.” The heaviness and horror of his story weighed down on you like an anvil. 

“My God . . .” you breathed, gazing at him. He looked hardened and you found it near impossible to figure out what he was thinking or feeling. “Levi . . . I’m sorry . . . I’m so sorry.” You felt tears prick your eyes. Feeling unloved. Being ignored and spurned. Dying in vain. You had never felt so hurt and so much pain for someone else before. 

“You didn’t have anything to do with it. You don’t have to apologize,” he replied. Mustering up your courage, you reached out and grabbed his hand. 

“I still feel awful about the life you led. No one should go through that,” you said, squeezing his cold hand. 

“They shouldn’t, but they do,” he sighed. “You don’t have to worry about Kenny’s spirit here, if you were wondering," he added as an afterthought. "I managed to banish him from the home. I just wish it could have worked sooner. Kenny was a ghost here for a while, and he managed to corrupt Eren, Mikasa, and Marco’s souls before I was finally able to exorcise him from the house. But now that they’re just as dangerous as him, I wish I was able to do the same for the other brats.” – He squeezed your hand – “But we’ll figure out a way to get rid of them. Regardless of how she acts, I want my sister to rest in peace. It’s what she deserves.” 

“And what you deserve too, Levi,” you added. 

“I don’t have a body left to have buried. No exorcism can get rid of me. I’m stuck here forever,” he pointed out. 

“Then maybe I’ll join you.” He looked up at you sharply, anger flitting in his eyes. 

“You’re too young to be thinking those thoughts, [First],” he hissed. 

“I meant once I’m at the end of my line. I wouldn’t mind spending eternity by your side,” you said, your cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. 

“You wouldn’t be half-bad as sometime to spend the time with,” he returned. You laughed at his rude comment, grabbing a pillow and hitting him. “What? It wasn’t like I was being an asshole.” 

“That’s bullshit Levi; you’re always an asshole,” you said with a huge smile. 

“I can’t argue with that statement.” You giggled again, looking deep into his silver eyes. _You know, maybe I really could spend eternity with him._


	6. The Temperature Rises

The microwave’s timer went off, the shrill beeps assaulting your ears. You were once again home alone and since you’d been having some aches and pains in your body, you were heating up a bed buddy in hopes of getting some relief. Medicine wasn’t helping, stretching wasn’t, so you resorted to carry about Plan C. The warm sack of rice felt good against your ribs as you held it against your sore body.

“Is the heat helping? Levi asked from his place at the stove, helping you cook dinner. 

“Yeah, it is,” you replied, grabbing the straps of the bed buddy and securing it in place around your waist. “God, I don’t know what I’ve been doing that’s been making everything hurt so badly.” 

“Maybe it’s because of you traipsing around Trost with those bratty friends of yours,” he commented snidely. 

“I don’t know what you have against them,” you told him, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet. “They haven’t done anything to you.” 

“Hoover accused me of beating you,” he reminded you. 

“To be fair I was screaming and freaking out and you were acting kinda sketchy.” 

“That doesn’t excuse his accusations.” 

“I’m not trying to excuse them, I’m just giving you the reason why Bertolt did what he did.” 

“I don’t know what you see in him,” he said, turning the stove off. “He’s shady and he texts you far too much for my liking.” 

“Did you go through my phone again?!” you said angrily. 

“With you in contact with him, of course I have to,” he returned. 

“Stop fucking going through my phone!” you shouted, feeling your blood boiling. “That’s not okay and it’s annoying as hell!” 

“If you didn’t talk to him, I wouldn’t have to do it,” he replied, glaring at you. 

“You have no right to go through my texts, Levi,” you told him. 

“I’m doing it to make sure he’s not taking advantage of you,” he said venomously. 

“I highly doubt that,” you hissed, pouring some pasta into your bowl and storming off into the living room. Levi sighed, following you into the room. 

“All right, I’ll stop it if it’ll make you happy,” he said. 

“You should be stopping it because it’s borderline abusive,” you muttered, shoving some pasta into your mouth. A few beeps from your phone alerted you. “It’s Annie,” you rolled your eyes at Levi, who looked expectantly at you. “We’re all having Thanksgiving together, so we’re planning who’s bringing what.” 

“And is -” 

“Yes, Bertolt is going. It’s going to be us and the Braun House boys,” you informed him. He still looked sour (more so than usual), so you added, “It’s not like we’re having dinner alone at, like, a romantic restaurant or something. We’re literally meeting at the Reiss House and just having a sit-down dinner with everyone.” 

“I’ve seen how he looks at you, what he texts to you, how when you say, ‘jump,’ he responds with ‘how high?’ He’s got an annoying crush on you,” Levi commented disdainfully. 

“He’s just being friendly. Just because he’s a guy and he’s nice to me doesn’t mean he wants to V,” you said, grabbing the remote. You turned the TV on and started flipping through channels. 

“He for fucking sure ‘wants the V,’ as you put it,” he said. 

“He’s nice, and I like him, but he’s not really the person I’m interested in right now,” you told him. Your heart decided to speed up and you couldn’t slow it down. _Stop it! It’s not like I’m going to tell Levi,_ you scolded it. Your heart didn’t listen to you. 

“So you’re interested in someone?” he asked, his voice precarious. 

“Why does it matter?” you retorted, playing it cool. 

“It doesn’t. I just didn’t know,” he said. Something about his questions tickled you. You giggled, poking his arm. 

“Is someone jealous?” you teased him. 

“Tch. As if I’m jealous,” he said. 

“You know, it’d be okay to feel jealous -” 

“I’m not fucking jealous. Jesus Christ, didn’t you hear me the first time?” 

“All right, all right, I’ll drop it,” you acquiesced. 

Annie: Do you want to bring dessert? 

You: Yeah, sure. 

Annie: Cool. Sasha’s going out to Costco and grabbing pumpkin pie, and Connie’s making some kind of chocolate peanut butter but God knows he’s not the most dependable. 

You: I can bring cake, or something. 

Annie: That sounds good. Linnea’s on the beach has really good cakes, but you have to order it in advance. 

You: I can do that. Do you guys have any preferences? 

Annie: Get white cake. 

You: Got it. Is there anything else I need to get? Or anything I can help with? 

Annie: There’s nothing else to get. Krista may need help with making cheese pinwheels since she’s doing that AND some kind of casserole, but if that’s the case I’ll text you the morning of and tell you. 

You: I can do that. And thanks. 

Annie: Np. 

Annie: Krista wants to know if your boyfriend is gonna join us. 

You: My boyfriend? 

Annie: Yeah, that short guy that’s at your house constantly. 

You: Levi?? 

Annie: Yeah, the only Bert describes as “shady.” Krista wants to know if he’s coming and if we need another table setting. 

Annie: She gets pissy when it comes to table settings and holidays. 

You: No, he’s not coming. 

Annie: I was kind of hoping he would. I’d love for him and Bert to battle it out, but fair enough. We had enough drama last year after Reiner and Ymir decided to dye Armin’s hair while he was blacked out. 

You: Sounds like Thanksgiving gets crazy lol. 

Annie: We’re having a two drink limit this year. We decided it after what happened to Armin and after Petra lost her phone and shoe, which ended up being in your backyard. 

You: Are they gonna be there too? I don’t think I’ve met them. 

Annie: No. Armin’s studying abroad in England this year and Petra and a few of her friends are down in LA trying to make it as a band. 

You: Oh, okay. 

Annie: Yup. 

Annie: I gotta go, I have to go drive to make my night class. If anything comes up I’ll text you. 

You: Okay, cool. I’ll ttyl Annie. 

Annie: Ttyl. 

Finished with dinner, you stood up and went to put your dishes away. Levi followed you in. 

“So what’re you going to bring?” he asked. 

“I’m gonna take white cake from a bakery we all love,” you replied. You opened the dishwasher and placed the dirty dishes inside. 

“All right,” he said. You stretched your limbs, trying to attain the sweet feeling of relief. 

“God, I can’t get my body to feel right, even with the stupid bed buddy,” you complained, taking the heating pad off and putting it on the counter. “I think I’m gonna go take a hot bath and see if that helps.” 

“All right. I’m going go finish that book series while you’re in there,” he said as you two made the trek upstairs. 

“The one where you complained about the protagonist?” you chuckled. 

“It’s not natural to have feelings for your brother, and the romance between Clary and Jace was already kinda gross,” he said, almost bitterly. You laughed. 

“I still can’t believe you’re actually reading that,” you commented. 

“What can I say? I’m into the whole angels and demons thing,” he shrugged. He made a beeline for your bedroom towards your bookcase while you went to the bathroom next to your room. You got the water running in the bathtub, letting it warm up first before putting the plug in. _Thank God for electric water heating,_ you thought, shutting the door and stripping down. _I really hope this helps. I’m tired of being in pain every time I walk. And having sore abs. I’m just ready for this whole sore body thing to stop._

You stopped the water and stepped in, letting the hot water comfort your body. _Oh God, this really does help,_ you thought blissfully, submerging your body into the hot water. It felt like heaven, the warmth helping soothe the sore parts of your body. _Why didn’t I do this earlier?_ You sunk deeper into the tub, closing your eyes and relishing the delicious feelings of a nice hot bath. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we really need to talk. I’m not looking, I promise.” The voice caught you off guard, and in your bathroom stood Eren, his hands over his eyes. A scream ripped itself from you throat and without really thinking about it, you threw a bottle of shampoo at him. It went straight through him, hitting the door. 

“Get out!” you screamed at him. “Why won’t you things just leave me alone?!” 

“Why do you get so upset with us and freak the fuck out?!” Eren retorted, hands still over his face. You grabbed the bottle of conditioner, chucking it at him. Levi appeared out of thin air and the conditioner hit him square in the back, falling to his heels. 

“Eren.” Levi’s voice was colder than ice, and in a flash, Eren was gone. Your adrenaline was pumping through your veins, making your heart race. “Are you okay, [First]?” Levi asked, turning to face you. 

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. He didn’t do anything but talk to me and scare the shit outta me,” you said. Despite the fact Eren was now gone, the whole incident left you heavily unsettled. He had been right there while you bathed, and although you knew he hadn’t seen you, you still felt a sense of violation. This was supposed to be relaxing, but it ended up being anything but. “Can you hand me my towel?” 

“Do you need help getting out?” he asked. You shook your head. He handed you a towel and turned his back to you, letting you stand up and dry off. Quickly, you pulled you pajamas back on and pulled the drain on the bathtub. The walk to your bedroom was silent. You felt tired, and although it wasn’t that late, you decided to go to bed. You snuggled under the covers, trying to get comfortable. Levi sat on your bed, against the wall and engrossed in your book. Even though you could see him at your feet, you didn’t feel any safer. 

“Levi?” your voice cut out into the night air nervously. He looked up from your book. 

“What?” he asked. 

“I-I . . . I was wondering if . . . I mean, you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it, but . . . could you come over here and cuddle with me? I just need something to hold onto.” He was quiet, simply gazing at you with that poker face that you couldn’t decipher. 

“Will it help you sleep?” he asked. 

“Mmhm,” you nodded. He closed the book and put it on the ground before crawling up to you, getting under the blankets and pulling you into a warm embrace. Immediately you felt calmer. You curled up to him, putting your arms around his upper torso. “Thank you,” you murmured, resting your head right under his. 

“It’s nothing, brat. If it helps you sleep . . .” he shrugged. You nodded, shutting your eyes. You could feel his thumb rubbing circles into your back. His intimate presence soothed you, and soon drowsiness dawned upon you. 

“Good night, Levi.” Out of its own accord, your hand found one of his, gently getting a hold of it. 

“Night, [First],” he replied, his fingers fitting over the spaces between yours. 

You had never gotten such good sleep before.


	7. The Lovers

“I’m coming through with the turkey, everyone watch out!” Reiner announced, walking into the Reiss House dining room with the huge turkey. It was the day before Thanksgiving and you and your friends were gathered together to have a friend Thanksgiving together. The succulent meat smelled delicious and complemented the other savory smells coming from the table. You were wedged between Bertolt and Sasha, a large amount of food already on your plate. Cheers and whistles came from different parts of the table as Reiner set the turkey down in the middle of the table and began to cut slices for everyone.

“It doesn’t look half-bad, Reiner,” Annie said, a teasing half-smile on her lips. 

“I slaved over this turkey since three am. You better fuckin’ appreciate it,” he told her, giving her a piece of dark meat. 

“I can confirm he was really up that early to cook it. He woke me up, he was so loud,” Marcel complained lightheartedly with a laugh. 

“You’re too much of a light sleeper. It’s not my fault,” Reiner replied. 

“You _are_ pretty loud when you cook . . .” Bertolt sheepishly admitted. 

“Not you too, Bert!” he groaned, making everyone laugh. Once Reiner got everyone served, he sat down in between Annie and Ymir. He poured himself a glass of blood red wine before standing up, glass in hand. 

“We do toasts before we eat,” Sasha whispered to you in explanation. 

“So, I Skyped with Petra this morning, and we’ve got wonderful news: she and her band have gotten a record deal!” Reiner announced. A few of your friends hollered in celebration. “Even though she’s not here right now, let’s make a toast to Petra and her band: may they keep being successful.” Everyone’s glasses were raised and everyone said, “To Petra and her band” before taking a drink. Reiner sat down, and Annie stood up. 

“Congratulations to Ymir for placing first at that bartending competition. To Ymir,” she said. Glasses were raised, everyone congratulated Ymir, and drank in her honor. Annie sat down, and Krista stood up.

“Survey Incorporated has been a prominent company for decades, with international offices and they’re one of the highest paying employers in the world. Congratulations to Bertolt for getting a paid internship at their main offices in London, England as well as a scholarship so he can keep going to school during the internship. Congrats! We’re proud of you!” she said. Bertolt turned pink, looking down at his food. You reassuringly squeezed his arm, toasting him with your free hand. A few more people were toasted, and the meal began. 

“[First], that’s an interesting necklace,” Marcel said, pointing his fork at the pomegranate medallion hanging from your neck. 

“Oh, thanks,” you said.

“Do you even _like_ pomegranate?” Sasha asked. “I thought you didn’t like it.” 

“Well it’s pretty necklace, and Levi bought it for me, so why wouldn’t I wear it?” you replied, shoveling food into your mouth. 

“Is that your way of saying you don’t actually like pomegranate?” Annie smirked. 

“Oh my God, [First] is a poser pomegranate fan!” Marcel exclaimed. You snorted, laughing at him. 

“Get out, Marcel!” you told him. 

“But seriously, though,” Ymir said. “Can I see it, [First]?”

“Yeah, sure.” You slipped it off over your head and tossed it over to her. She examined it carefully, slim fingers running over the red rhinestones. 

“Where did he get this?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow at you. “I feel like I’ve seen this at that occult shop where we went shopping at a few weeks ago.” 

“I don’t know where he got it; I guess it’s possible he bought it there,” you shrugged. 

“He didn’t tell you anything?” Krista asked. 

“He just said he picked it up for me while running errands,” you answered. 

“I swear to God I saw this at the occult shop,” Ymir shook her head. She tossed it back to you. You caught it before it could land your mashed potatoes. 

“I’ll ask him when I get back home tonight.” You slipped the necklace back on. A chill went through your body as the medallion touched your skin; you didn’t know what Ymir was implying, but you didn’t like it one bit. 

The rest of the dinner went without incident, everyone joking around and telling hilarious stories of past Thanksgiving dinners. The two drink limit wasn’t adhered to, and Ymir and Connie ended up having a drink contest (unsurprisingly, Ymir won). By the end of the meal, you had never felt so stuffed in your life, your stomach feeling like it was going to explode. 

“God, that was delicious,” you moaned, leaning back in your chair. Bertolt chuckled, nodding. 

“Just wait till Christmas. The food’s even better,” he told you. Krista and Annie were putting away food and cleaning the table, and everyone else in the family room. You stood up to stretch out your limbs. 

“I’m gonna go outside and get some fresh air,” you said to no one in particular, walking towards the sliding glass door and onto the porch. The sound of footsteps followed you outside. As you leaned on the porch railing, Bertolt joined you. 

“So, you’re going off to England?” you asked him, wanting to strike up a conversation. 

“Y-yeah. I’m leaving right after New Year’s,” he answered. Your stomach fell to the ground. 

“So soon?” 

“They want me to get to work as soon as possible, so . . .” his voice trailed off as he shrugged. You sighed before glancing up at him. 

“How long will you be gone?” 

“Until next New Year’s, unless they hire me for a job. They’ve gotten me into a study abroad program so I can keep going to school during my days off. They’re completely paying for my classes, too,” he said. 

“Wow, they must really want you there,” you breathed, looking down at the ground. 

“I guess. I’ve always wanted to go to England, so it’s kind of a dream come to. I just wish it wasn’t so far away, you know?” he said. “I know I’m going to get homesick really bad.” 

“If airfare wasn’t so bad I’d say you could come and visit every so often, but with you across the country and a sea . . . It’s not possible. But I’m sure it’ll be a great opportunity,” you reassured him. 

“Yeah, even with the homesickness it’ll be a good career move,” he agreed. 

“And hey, maybe we’ll be able to find time to Skype together and that should ease some of the pain, right? Although, with you eight hours ahead it’ll be hard, but we can make it work,” you added as an afterthought. 

“We’ll be able to figure something out,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It’s just going to be weird not seeing everyone everyday and not being in close contact.” 

“It will be, but we’ll make this work. I promise,” you said, patting him on the back. He gave you a small smile, putting his arm around your shoulders. 

“Yeah, everything’s gonna work out,” he said. 

*Six Hours Later*

Your house was lit up when Bertolt walked you back over to your house. _This is a welcome change,_ you thought, waving goodbye to your tall friend before entering your house. 

“I’m home!” you called out. 

“We’re in the kitchen!” your mother called out. You walked in, savoring the sweet smells coming from the oven. “How was dinner with your friends?” 

“It was good. Krista sent some leftovers with me,” you told her, putting the Tupperware container in the fridge. 

“That’s awfully kind of her. We should have them all over for dinner sometime. I’m sure they feed you more than I do, so it’d be a nice change to feed them,” she joked. You chuckled. 

“Yeah, we should have them over sometime. I’m sure they’d love it,” you said. “I’m gonna go head upstairs and lie in a food coma for a few hours.” 

“All right. Your father and I already ate, but if you get hungry, we also have leftovers in the fridge.” 

“Okay, thanks Mom.” You quickly walked up the stairs (well, as fast as you could go with your full tummy) and found Levi curled up on your bed, your laptop screen illuminating his face. “Don’t tell me you’re reading my emails again. If -” 

“Don’t you trust me? I stopped when you asked me to,” he said, giving you a dirty look. “I’m reading some manga Sasha was going on about over that Skype call that one night. It’s pretty good, although the protagonist’s sidekick is a more likable character than the protagonist,” he commented as you pulled the screen back to see what he was reading. 

“Well, Sebastian _is_ a badass,” you jokingly agreed with him. “I’m pretty sure Sasha’s just into it because of all the close-ups of fancy food, though.” Levi smirked, exiting the browser and shutting your laptop. 

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” he said. You put your computer on your nightstand and took its place on the bed, curling up next to Levi. “So how was the dinner?” he asked, wrapping his arms around you. 

“Really good. I don’t think I’ll be hungry for real Thanksgiving tomorrow,” you laughed, nuzzling his neck. He chuckled too, kissing your jaw. You giggled and kissed his neck. Your hands reached up and cupped his face, giving him a deep kiss. His hands wormed their way under your shirt, cold fingers kneading the soft flesh of your waist. The tip of his tongue gently glided against your lower lip. You let his tongue explore your mouth. You pulled him on top of you, grinning as you wrapped your arms around his neck. 

The kissing turned into a loving bout of sex, and afterwards you and Levi were a mess of limbs, legs intertwined and arms thrown over each other. Your head rested against his chest and you could feel the warmth of your cheeks against his own hot skin. His fingers ran themselves absentmindedly through your [h/c] hair. 

“Was it painful at all?” he asked softly. You shook your head. 

“No. I feel a little sore, but nothing was painful,” you replied, slowly sitting up. The tips of his lips curled up in a grin. 

“Good. I was worried about that,” he explained. He titled your face up to his, placing a sweet, chaste kiss on your swollen lips. You considered telling him you loved him. But as his arms around you grew tighter, you knew you didn’t need to say it. Love was in his arms, in your bodies pressed tightly against each other, in the warm atmosphere surrounding you two. Love was evident, so you knew you didn’t have to tell him you loved him. You knew he felt it, as you felt his love.


	8. The Legacy of the Ackerman House

The doctor’s office was clean, well-lit, and smelled of acrid cleaning supplies. The waxy paper crinkled under you as you swung your legs back and forth, waiting for the doctor to come back with your results. To no one’s surprise, you were sick. It was the beginning of December, and everyone knew it was the beginning of the cold season as well. You didn’t think anything of the nausea, vomiting, and increased heart rate that plagued you until you noticed your breasts felt very tender. Fearing the worse, you went to the doctor’s office and under her suggestion, took a blood test just to make sure nothing was serious.

The door clicked open and the doctor came in, shutting the door behind her. Nerves wracked your body, violently rocking the pit of your stomach. She was silent as she drew up a chair, raising it so she could look you straight in the eye. 

“Good news is you didn’t come up positive for any illnesses. Everything is in order, in that retrospect,” she began, flipping through the test results. 

“Then, what’s wrong with me?” you inquired, feeling relieved that you weren’t sick but confused about what could be wrong. 

“Well, you mentioned you were sexually active so we tested for STD’s and pregnancy as well, which is why we took more blood than usual. Everything’s fine, but you’re feeling the first few symptoms of pregnancy. But you’re healthy and from what we can tell, the -” 

“Wait, _what?”_ your voice squeaked as your eyes practically bugged out. “I’m . . . wait, no, I can’t pregnant, Dr. Kirstein. I just _can’t_ be.” 

“The tests came back positive. I know it’s scary, but we’ll get you through this. We do offer maternal services, but really, I would go to the Planned Parenthood over by the UC. They offer a lot more than us and they’re specialized in this field. I can help you arrange an appointment over there, I -” 

“I-I’m sorry, doctor, but are you _sure_ I’m pregnant? I just don’t see how this is possible. Are you sure it’s not a false positive?” you asked. _How the hell can I be pregnant? It’s not like Levi can get me pregnant. I mean, he shouldn’t have sperm, or anything,_ you wondered, feeling sick to your stomach. 

“Blood tests very rarely produce false positives. And, having a son of my own, your symptoms sound a lot like the symptoms I had early on when I was pregnant with him. But I understand not wanting to believe it at first. I’ll help you along the way, and the folks at Planned Parenthood are absolutely wonderful and extremely helpful. We’ll all help you through this.” 

*Thirty Minutes Later*

“So I went out and got us lunch. I couldn’t find any of those ice cream bars you wanted so I just got you a milkshake instead. I hope that’s all right,” Bertolt said as you climbed into his car after your appointment with Dr. Kirstein. He noticed your devastated face and added, “A-are you okay, [First]?” His hand gently squeezed your arm and you lost it, sobbing hysterically. He undid his seat belt and pulled you into a comforting hug, letting you cry it out. 

“I-I-I’m pregnant,” you gasped, trying to get some air. “I just don’t know how it happened! I shouldn’t be! There’s no way I could be!” 

“Well . . . um . . . you do know how babies are made, ri -” 

“Yes, I fucking now how babies are made! I just,” you sniffled, trying to control your tears. “I didn’t think it’d be possible for me to get pregnant given the circumstances . . .” 

“Were you guys using a lot of birth control, or something?” he asked. You bit your lip. 

“No. We, um, we’ve never used any protection. I-I didn’t figure he’d be able to get me pregnant,” you explained. You broke away from Bertolt, staring at your feet. “I’m just really confused and freaked out right now.” He was silent for a moment, the only sounds in the car being your breathing. 

“If something happens, and Levi drops out and you want to have and keep the baby, I’ll stay here and help you raise them,” he said slowly. 

“Bert, no! You can’t do that! You have that internship -” you protested, but he cut you off. 

“You’re more important than that internship. I’m not leaving you on your own if you need help,” he interrupted. 

“I . . . I’m touched by your offer. I really am, Bertl. But . . . but hopefully Levi stays. If not, I’ll let you know.” 

“Okay. Do you want to go home, or . . . ?” he asked, buckling his seat belt and turning the car on. 

“Yeah. I wanna go home,” you replied. _I need to talk to Levi about this,_ you thought miserably. 

*Twenty Minutes Later* 

“Levi, I’m back!” you shouted as soon as you walked through your front door. As you shut it, he appeared. 

“How’d it go?” he asked as you approached him, giving him a hug. You needed the comfort. 

“I . . . They told me I was pregnant,” you said, burying your face in his neck. 

“What?” he demanded, pushing you away so he could get a good look at you. “Did they make a mistake, or something? How can you be pregnant? I’m the only person you’ve been with.” 

“I don’t know! I took two different pregnancy tests and they both came back positive. I just, did you know you could get me pregnant?” you questioned him. 

“Of course I didn’t. Why would I keep information like that from you if I had it?” he demanded, giving you an accusatory look. 

“I don’t know, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t tell me once and I just wasn’t paying attention, or something,” you said. “I’m just extremely confused and I have no idea how this could have happened.” 

“I am too.” 

“I have an appointment at Planned Parenthood scheduled in a few days, and I think I’m going to get an abortion.” You could have heard a pin drop, the room grew so silent. 

“What?” he asked, an edge in his voice. 

“Well, how is this going to work out? I’m unemployed and in school, you’re dead. Becoming parents isn’t exactly a feasible option. I mean, I don’t want one but there’s not exactly any other option,” you explained. 

“I don’t want you to get an abortion,” he said with an air of finality. You glared at him. 

“You’re not the one that’s going to have to explain to her parents about how she’s pregnant and you’re not the one that’s going to have to carry a baby for nine months and then give birth, all the while going to school and trying to find a job,” you told him, feeling your blood boil. 

“You’re not doing this alone. I’ll figure something out and we’ll be able to have and raise the baby,” he promised. He put a hand on your shoulder as if trying to calm you down.“After all, if I was able to protect my little sister from getting beaten to by that brute Yeager, , I can figure out how we’re going to do this whole parenthood thing.” 

“I-I . . . I guess,” you shrugged. _Wait, protecting Mikasa from Eren? Wasn’t Kenny Ackerman the one beating Mikasa before her death?_ Levi’s gaze seemed to turn condescending, and uneasiness washed over you like a wave over a rock.“I need a hot bath,” you said, wanting to get away from for a moment to think. 

“All right. I’ll wait outside and make sure the brats don’t bother you this time,” he said. You hoped the fake smile you have him looked real. You kissed his cheek, murmuring your thanks. You locked the bathroom door after you, stripping down and running bath water. Carefully, you stepped in, making sure not to get your hands wet, and you dug your cell phone out of your pants pocket, put it on silent mode, and sent out a text message. 

You: Hey, what’s your schedule look like for the rest of today? 

Bertolt: Ymir and I are going to experiment with mixed drink recipes later tonight. Why? Is everything okay? 

You: Can you help me with some research? I need to go to UC Trost’s library and look at some books about local history. 

Bertolt: Yeah, sure. What time do you want me to pick you up? 

You: How does thirty minutes sound? 

Bertolt: So soon? 

You: Can you not do that? I’m okay with waiting a bit. 

Bertolt: No, I’m free right now. It’s just that I just dropped you off like 5 minutes ago. 

You: I know, I’m sorry about that. 

Bertolt: I’m totally fine with it, I just want to know what’s up.

You: I just need to look up some things about the Ackerman Murders. 

Bertolt: ? 

Bertolt: ????? 

You: I’ll explain everything in the car. 

Bertolt: Okay . . . 

Bertolt: I’ll see you in thirty minutes, then. 

You: Thanks 

You: If Levi geets you at the door, Planned Parenthood moved my appointment up to today and you’re taking me, okay? 

Bertolt: Are you okay? 

You: I’m fine. 

You: I’m sorry I can’t really explain right now 

You: But I promise I’ll explain everything in the car when you pick me up. 

Bertolt: Okay. Stay safe, all right, [First]? 

You: I promise. 

After washing up and faking a call from Planned Parenthood, you got out of the bathtub and dried off, getting ready for your trip to the library. You shoved your phone back into your pocket and unlocked the bathroom door, heading downstairs. 

“Is everything all right?” Levi asked, hot on your heels. 

“Planned Parenthood was able to move my appointment up to today. Bertolt’s taking me to it right now,” you explained, even though you figured he heard the fake call. 

“Okay. Can you stop walking for a second?” You obliged. He turned you around and gave you a hug, burying his face in the crook of your neck. 

“I’m sorry I was short with you earlier. It’s your body and you have final say over whether you continue the pregnancy or not,” he apologized. “I love you, and I’ll support you not matter what choice you make.” 

“I love you too,” you replied. You quickly kissed him before leaving the house and climbing into Bertolt’s car. 

“What’s going on, [First]?” he asked, pulling away from the curb as you buckled your seat belt. 

“Look, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I promise I’m not lying or making any of this up.” 

“I’ll keep an open mind,” he told you. 

“Thank you. Okay, so the very first night I moved in, some weird things went on . . .” 

*Forty Minutes Later* 

The library was nearly vacant when you and Bertolt entered the large building. Only a few procrastinating students were running around, desperately trying to get projects and research papers done. You and Bertolt made a beeline for the local history section, looking for news reports from the Ackerman Murders. Thankfully, he did keep an open mind as promised and while you weren’t sure if he believed you or not, he gave you support and promised to help you to the best of his ability. He grabbed the books you couldn’t reach and suggested certain history books. You both snagged a table, splitting the work load between you two. 

“So what’re we looking for _exactly?”_ he asked. 

“Details about Eren and Mikasa’s bodies. Like, what injuries they had,” you told him, grabbing a book and flipping through it. Silence fell between you two as you searched and searched the books for details. 

“I got it,” he whispered, getting up and sitting beside you. “‘Mikasa Ackerman, age: eighteen. Cause of death: blood loss. Injuries: throat slashed left to right, deep gashes on her forearms and thighs. Bludgeoned with a heavy object.’” 

“Does it say anything about bruises? Levi told me Kenny was abusing Mikasa and punching her,” you said, thinking to double check that part of the story. 

“No, and given it’s a police report, if she had had any bruises, it’d be recorded here,” he replied. 

“What about Eren’s injuries?” you asked. 

“Bludgeoned and then stabbed in the neck,” he replied. “It says his time of death was recorded after Mikasa’s but before Kenny Ackerman’s.” Your head was spinning. 

“He told me Eren died after Kenny,” you whispered. “Why would he lie about that?” _God! None of this makes any sense!_ You grabbed your head, slumping onto the desk. 

“I don’t know, [First], but I think it’s safe to say you need to be careful around him.” You nodded, feeling acidic tears burn your eyes. _he been lying to me? Why would he do that? Does that mean he’s lied about other things?_

“Bertl, can you find me a book about spirits?” you asked. He got up, gently rubbing your shoulder before obliging you. _Why would Levi lie about Kenny beating Mikasa? Or Eren dying right after Mikasa? Has he just forgotten details over the years, or is he intentionally lying to me?_ You wiped away the tears with your sleeve; the last thing you wanted to do was break down crying in the library. 

Bertolt returned a few minutes later with a book about supernatural entities, like you asked. _I need to figure out a way to get rid of ghosts. I need to banish them all from the house,_ you thought, flipping through past the pages talking about fairies and ghosts and demons and poltergeists. 

“[F-First]? I know this is kind of a lot to ask, but I want you to stay over at my house tonight. Or Krista’s, if you feel uncomfortable staying with me,” he added hurriedly. “I just don’t think staying at your house with Levi is a good idea.” 

“I need to talk to him though, Bert,” you said, trying to find a ritual to exorcise ghosts. “I need to confront him about his lies.” 

“No, no you don’t. What if he hurts you?” Bertolt argued. 

“I need to find out the truth,” you said stubbornly. “Look I don’t wanna talk to him about it but I need to know what’s going on.” 

“Then let me confront him and report back to you,” he pleaded, green eyes imploring you. “We don’t know if Levi’s dangerous and I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.” 

“No. I need to do this, Bertl. I’ll call you right after I talk with him to let you know I’m okay. And if something happens, I’ll head over to your house, okay?” you promised. He sighed, shaking his head. 

“You’re so God damn stubborn,” he lamented. “All right. You’ll go and do it on your own. But please, come to me, or Krista, or Annie, or anyone afterwards. Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

*An Hour Later* 

Your house had never looked so uninviting before. The black windows, the off-white trim around the house, the dark Victorian features: it looked unappealing and seemed to scream at you to turn around and let Bertolt do all the talking. _No,_ you clenched your fists as you entered the Ackerman House. _I am fighting my own battle._ You walked up the stairs, each step groaning as you ascended. The door to your room was open. Levi was and you could feel your willpower crumbling. 

“I-I’m getting the abortion in a few days,” you lied. Levi looked away, giving a curt nodded before standing up. He sauntered over to you and put his arms around your waist. 

“Okay. I’m sad we’re not going to be a family, but if this is what’s best for you, then I can’t argue with it,” he said, kissing your forehead. _Oh God, I can’t do this! I can’t do this!_

“Levi, honey, I-I wanted to talk to you for a moment,” you said, trying to steady your shaking voice. He let go of you. 

“What’s up?” he asked. 

“I-I . . . I went to the library and I found some of the police reports from the Ackerman Murders,” you began, your heart pounding and stomach feeling like an ocean during a storm. “They said there weren’t any bruises on Mikasa Ackerman’s body, like you insinuated there would be. And that Eren died after Mikasa but before Kenny. I just wanted to know why you lied to me about that.” 

“You think I _lied_ to you?” he raised his voice, looking angry. “I would never lie to you! Written texts don’t mean anything, and our police force back then wasn’t exactly straight. They probably left out Mikasa’s bruises and made a mistake with Eren’s time of death. I know what happened, I was there. Are you seriously going to question me?” 

“When an official source says something else, yeah,” you replied angrily, feeding off of his aggressive defensiveness. 

“I can’t believe you would think I intentionally fed you lies. Why would I do that? What would I gain from that?” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before cupping your face with his cold hands. “What did I do to you to make you not trust me? I love you, and I just want you to be happy, and I can’t do that unless you trust me.” – He kissed your nose – “Remember our first time?” he said softly. “You trusted me then, and remember how good it was? There was nothing but love then. We gave each other our all. Remember how you sat on my lap and we held each other as we made love?” You felt a chill of confusion as he kissed your neck. _Our first time wasn’t in that posi – Oh God. That dream, it . . . it can’t have been real, could it? There’s no way it could have been real . . ._ An entry from the book of spirits Bertolt found flashed in your mind and froze your heart. You realized you had never felt real fear before that moment. 

“Get away from me!” you screamed, pushing him away from you as you tried to clamber away from him, only to fall near your dresser. 

“What’s wrong, [First]? Is everything okay?” he asked, concern in his bluish-grey eyes. He reached out a hand to help you up, but you slapped his hand away, shaking like a leaf in a storm as you stood up, leaning on the dresser for support. 

“Y-you’re not a ghost, are you?” you demanded. 

“What? [First], what are you talk -” He had reached out to grab your shoulder, but you hit his hand away again. 

“Don’t touch me!” you screeched, tears filling your eyes. “You’re a demon, aren’t you, Levi?” 

“[First], that’s fucking stup -” 

“Stop playing games with me! I know you’re not a ghost! If you ever loved me, stop lying to me! I know you’re a demon, Levi. An incubus to be exact, right?” The room was still. Your chest heaved as you stared at Levi. And he stared right back at you with an expression you couldn’t discern. 

And then he laughed. 

“I shouldn’t have underestimated you. You’re a lot smarter than I give you credit for,” he grinned, eyes flashing black as he approached you. You screamed and made for the door, but Levi was quicker. He grabbed your hair, throwing you down onto the hard wood flooring. Your head hit the ground hard, sending shock waves of pain down your system. “It’s a shame you had to find out this way. I could have made you happy for a while.” Your head span from the impact and the sharp blow of gut-wrenching betrayal as you tried to get up. Levi’s fingers tangled themselves in your hair as he knelt down beside you. “You really are my favorite victim. I’m going to enjoy spending eternity with you as my toy.” He yanked your head up and slammed it back down into the floor. Pain shot through your veins, making you cry out. 

“Stop it! Please, don’t!” You tried to break free, but Levi pinned your body to the ground, sitting on your side and holding your wrists in his free hand. He hit your head on the floor again. 

“No, I’m not going to. Don’t you want to be with me forever? Isn’t that what you always told me? Why did you lie to me, [First]? What did I ever do to you to make you lie to me like this?” he tormented you, hitting you against the floor again. 

“Why are you doing this?” you sobbed, screeching in agony as he hit your head against the wood again. The side of your head felt wet. 

“Because I like human souls. I like having power. Being in control over every spirit in this Godforsaken house is a good deal. I’ll never be able to repay Kenny Ackerman for stupidly summoning me into this house. You _really_ wanna know what happened in the Ackerman House, [First]? Kenny Ackerman thought he could control me, he wanted me to do his bidding.” He smirked as he forced your head down onto the floor. “He was dead wrong. I killed him and that little bitch of his, Mikasa. And her little lover boy Eren, too, when he got down there and saw Kenny trying to use his own daughter as a sacrifice. That brat must be dumber than you are; he tried to go after me. Pulled out so much of my hair and he bled so much that people thought that four people had died in the Ackerman House. But no, it was just three.” 

He hit you again. He jerked your head to face him. He had a demented smile on his face as he bent down, kissing your cheek. His tongue licked the blood off of your face. He forced the tip into the wound on your head, pain spasms rocking your body. You screamed and writhed under him, trying to force him off of you. 

“Stop it! Stop it! It hurts!” you cried, crying and gasping for air. He chuckled, kissing the wound before slamming your head into the ground again. 

“You know, my original plan was winning you over and once we had a baby together, killing you, our kid, and your entire family. I had everything orchestrated from the start. And then those damn brats tried to warn you what I was up to. Oh, they’re going to pay for that.” He slammed your head particularly hard into the floor, so much you felt as if you had lost consciousness for only a few seconds. “I won’t be able to get the baby’s soul, which sucks, and your parents are probably going to move out after they find you dead and before I can kill them, but I’m okay with losing their souls just so long as I get yours. Although, I am a little bit pissed that my investment in that fertility medallion isn’t going to pay off in the end.” 

You sobbed harder as he pounded your head into the wood, harder and harder each time. Hopelessness was the only thing on your mind, and you desperately tried to think of a way to get out of this. 

“Levi,” you choked out, tears and blood ruining your vision. “Stop it, please! This isn’t funny! Please stop it! I’ll be good, I promise! I’ll have the baby like you want! Just stop hurting me!” 

“It’s too late now, [First],” he said, kissing your cheek. “We can make up later when you truly decide to be a good girl. I doubt you mean anything you say. In fact, I _know_ you don’t mean any of it. The whole soul-binding ceremony I got you to do lets me tap into you. You could say it helps me figure out when you’re lying, as well as keep you bound to me no matter where I am.” He hit you against the wood floor again. 

“I’m not lying! I promise, I’m not lying!” you told him desperately. 

“You begging is kind of hot, but I’ve been lenient too many times with you. We can talk about this later, as I said.” You howled in agony as he hit you again, and the horrific realization that you were not going to make it to Bertolt's tonight, safe and sound. Your senses seemed to break, and you started screaming for your life, even though you knew it wouldn’t make a difference. It was the one thing you had control over, and maybe that’s why you did it.

“Stop it! Stop it, please!” you screamed, your head hitting the wood floor hard and repeatedly. “I’ll do anything you say! Just stop it! I don’t want to die! I’m sorry, I won’t question you any more! Just stop it! I thought you loved me! Levi, stop it! I’ll be good! I’ll do whatever you want me to! Oh God, it hurts! It hurts! Please stop it! _Please!_ Levi, I love -” 

  


_I’m sorry we didn’t get to warn you in time,_ Marco apologized to you as you, he, Mikasa, and Eren leaned against the wall of your living room. 

“I know. I should have listened and been more open to you guys. I’m sorry,” you said. Mikasa put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. 

“It’s okay, [First]. We went about it the wrong way. Everyone’s at fault here. I just wish we could have saved you from this fate.” You nodded. 

“But hey, even though Levi’s a dick, we still manage to have some fun!” Eren tried to cheer you up. “We pull pranks on the living, we play a lot of hide and seek, and every Halloween we can leave the house! I know it doesn’t sound that great, but it’s not as bad as you think it is.” 

“I guess I could go for the whole pranks thing,” you murmured. You sighed, and looked on at your funeral reception. Sasha and Connie were on your couch, picking at their food as Annie leaned against Reiner, not even touching her food. Bertolt was talking with your parents. The three of them looked inconsolable. “I just wish I could give them some kind of closure.” 

“Well, I mean I guess you technically could,” Eren said. “We could give you a crash course in manifesting for the living.” 

“I don’t know if it’d just make them upset, though. I mean, they did freak out when they found my body,” you said, shuddering at the memory. 

“I think staying invisible and mute is the best course of action for now, [First],” Mikasa advised you. She visibly tensed up, looking off into the distance. You looked over and saw Levi striding towards you, intent in his cold eyes. He shoved Mikasa and Eren away from you, pinning you to the wall. You whimpered as he bit your neck, his hands roaming all over your body. 

“You’re a tease for making me look all over the house for you,” he said, grabbing your wrists and pulling you towards an empty bedroom. 

“I-I don’t want to,” you told him quietly, trying to stay in place. 

“Who cares what you want? Remember who owns you?” he kissed you, tongue flicking inside of your mouth for a fraction of a second. “I own you. Now come on, I don’t have all day.” 

Eren made to stop you two, but one deadly glare from Levi stopped him in his tracks. Your new three friends watched in forced, depressed submission as Levi dragged you away. 

“I honestly don’t know what you’re so upset about,” Levi said as he pinned you onto a bed, ripping your clothes off. “You get to stay with me in this house for all eternity. And in the end, isn’t that all what you ever wanted?”


End file.
